The 22' steel i-beams supporting my floor joists along their 44' span have sagged a bit (up to 1/2") due to some settling of the concrete pads under the support posts. I have noticed a few cracks in the drywall and a sticky door or two--nothing major. The posts are not lally columns so I will need to jack up the i-beams and place shims on top of the posts to raise the beams. My question is, can this be done in one operation or should the i-beams be raised over an extended period of time? The floor above has in-floor heat tubing in 1 1/2" lightweight concrete. Should I just patch the drywall and adjust the doors? Will the i-beams just retain their curved shape as they are jacked up? Any thoughts?
-
-
This is best done slowly over time. However my thought is you need to talk to a structural engineer and/or a company that specializes in foundation systems. If the floor above is only lightweight concrete I would not use it as a jack point.David
The chief cause of failure in this life is giving up what you want most for what you want at the moment. -
I wouldn't be nearly as concerned about correcting the 1/2" sag, as I would be about keeping it from sagging any further.
VERY SLOWLY would be the only way to try and reverse the deformation, but first, I would put temporary posts a couple feet on either side of the existing ones. Take the load off, remove the concrete that is settling, excavate to solid material and pour a better concrete footer under the post.
Sounds painstaking, but not all that bad, really.Ken W.
_____________________
"If you can't fix it right, fix it so no one else can fix it right."Comment
Comment