I recently purchased a 1980s house and one of the bedrooms has an uneven floor. It looks like 2 of the joists are higher then the other 5 so there is a around 1cm ramp in the room. This is noticeable underfoot and has caused a number of chipwood board to come loose and be very creaky when walking on. However the joining room doesn't have this issue, the room did have some cracks in the corner of the walls (none from outside) which could suggest some settling or subsidence which is of concern.
I want to get the floor even and fix the creaking before laying new carpet. Who is this a job for ? Is it a carpenter/joiner or a builder? Will the joists need replacing or could they be lifted/evened out ? For the creaky floor, will the whole floor need to be replaced or can it be screwed down and patched?
Are you a tradesperson and able to answer this question?
Hi
You will be able to fix 10mm strips of ply or wood (ripped down) to nail onto the 5 joists that are lower then the other two aslong as this doesn’t have a knock on effect and raise your floor above the hallway?
A carpenter is needed for this job. He will also be able to screw all the chipboard floors so this should eliminate most of the creaking but there is a chance the old boards still may creak in some areas. The other option would be to rip up the old boards and check the joisting has herringbone or noggins so they are all fixed tight together and then fit new chipboard flooring which is glued and screwed. More work but depends on how much the creaking bothers you. Screwing the old boards down should eliminate a good percentage of it.
I would to be on the safe side get the cracking checked out (by a builder or engineer) as I can’t understand why the carpenters who built the house would put in different size joists.
Hope the above helps
Hi Richard
I would say that your joists have just been put in uneven or maybe if it’s an add on to the house they have been lifted slightly to run through to the existing house without a step.
Your solution would be to take up the existing floor boards and rip fillet pieces to gradually loose the difference or a fillet piece on the 5 that sit lower to bring it back even again
Thanks
Craig
Answered19 July 2018
0
Anonymous user
Hi
It would be very uncommon for a new build to be built and 2 of the joists Installed were different to all the others
I would get a surveyer out to carry out a report
Subsidence could be a major issue
Why do any remedial work and spend more money when the report may show something more structural to be done
I’d the report isn’t subsidence then remove the 2 joists totally and install 2 of the right size
It’s the right way to do it
Do the job once and once only
I hope this helps you
