On 10 Oct 2006 19:30:07 -0700, "BobK207" wrote:


wrote:
JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
"Rick F." wrote in message
...
In article om,
hotwheels514 wrote:
I have a damaged joist, it supports the 2nd floor of my house. My husband
severely notched it to get a piece of furniture up the stairs. He tried
to
repair it by bolting in another piece of wood, but now it also has a crack
in the same area, and Im afraid it will get worse. Also, he cut out a
much
smaller piece of the same joist in the bathroom (near where the
joist meets
the wall), on the bottom of the joist, so he could put a pipe in. Im worried about all of this. I'd like to bring in someone to fix it. Who do
I call? Carpenter? General Contractor? Is this really expensive to
repair?

Might I make a suggestion for next time? Please don't buy furniture that
requires
you to partially disassemble your house to fit it inside (unless it's a
tub and
you're remodelling anyway).. Get a different piece of furniture -- it's
much
cheaper..


I wonder if they gave any thought to whether they might want to move to a
new house someday, and how interesting it'll be when they explain to the new
buyer that the furniture is included, forever, like a bullet in the head.
:-)

After sistering a joist to the damaged one, run 1/2" inch bolts tying
the two joists together, and really get them tight. Don't just sister
with screws or nails, as it won't do much. Space the bolts ever 1.5"
or so. After that, it should be fine. I'm not an engineer, but I
wouldn't call one for such a small problem. That would be pretty
costly.

If you can't get a long joist in there (I'd go at least 3 foot on
either side of the crack), get yourself a nice 1/4" steel plate and
sister with that. The plate will need to be the width of the joist and
maybe only 2' long. Throw some 1/2" bolts thorugh that, and tighten it
down. You'll be good after that

Don't just sister with screws or nails, as it won't do much.

Wrong, screws or nails are fine; they just need to be properly sized &
space.

Well, ring or spiral-shank nails are fine. You probably shouldn't
use common nails in this application.
I was under the impression that the normal nailing schedule for this
would be every 8", along the top and bottom edges.

I am an engineer & I would call one to design the repair for me.


What the hell for? Just find anyone who's ever done any work
as a carpenter, and have them look at it. If they tell you
that the problem isn't as simple as it looks, *THEN* call
an engineer.