Cracked Floor Joist Structural Issue

Ceiling cracks running diagonally across ceiling a crack a 16th of an inch or larger that runs at a diagonal angle through a sheet s of drywall requires a lot of force to create this crack.

Cracked floor joist structural issue. You definitely need a structural engineer and if you cannot get one in there in a few days for peace of mind i would diy or handyman get a prop driven in under the left end of the first photo where the top half of the beam was cut through at the cross beam or joist causing the split and at any other places where the beam has been deeply notched like that. Depending upon the conditions it is possible to strengthen or repair existing framing members such as floor joists or roof rafters by adding reinforcing material sandwiching the member on either side with plywood is sometimes worthwhile but the plywood must be installed correctly for greatest strength. The nails are coincidental or related but not relevant. If these threats arise and structural repairs are neglected your home will start to suffer in the form of bouncy and spongey floors drywall cracks sticking doors and sloping and uneven floors.

These floor joists are often 2 x 6 2 x 8 2 10 or 2 x 12 pieces of lumber running parallel to each other that the sub floor is laid on. House and foundation settling occurs in pier and beam or block and base homes when soil shifts. These are just some of the things that may lead to structural problems. In table 1 the installation method dead load is the weight of the materials above the subfloor total dead load in the rightmost column is based on an assumed dead load of 10 psf for the subfloor joist and ceiling.

Thre ways to fix a sagging or sloping floor. If left untreated these will require costly repairs and maybe even cause more scary sounding structural issues such as subsidence and movement. As shown in table 1 a design dead load of 10 psf is not adequate when the floor covering is tile or stone this structural issue requires the attention of all professionals. Wood floor joist are horizontal structural framing members placed on their edge running from wall to wall or wall to beam.

If you re concerned about the structural integrity of sagging cracked or twisted joists in your house first call in a structural engineer to inspect the floor and recommend strengthening measures that ll take out the sags and bring the framing up to code search online or for engineers structural in the yellow pages. This type of crack suggest that there may be a structural issue i e. However when the crack is along the lower edge of the joist and running longitudinally down the joist the joist is failing. They often happen at knots checks or notches cuts in a joist.

Cracks like that in the joist are not abnormal but they do need to be repaired. Overgrown trees and shrubs cracked drains leaking rainwater goods missing roof tiles. Sagging floor joists can be fixed. As expansive clay soils expand and contract underneath the home it can cause foundation problems that lead to cracks in walls sagging floors and other structural issues.

Structural problems can occur in even the most well built homes due to excess moisture wood rot and termite damage.