Leveling a floor... maybe

Yup.  Joist hangers in my hand.  I really need to set up a time lapse camera.  Not sure if I have one.

A doubled 2x10 will probably carry the load of the left wall, but a cap block and 4x4 would half the load so not a bad idea, provided the earth underneath is stable and not exposed to erosion.

As far as I know, the concrete blocks have been right there for at least 100 years.  I would hope they've done all the settling they intend to do.

The right wall will also get a paver or block and a 4x4 in the middle just to make me feel warm and fuzzy.  I will have to level the dirt and may tamp in some gravel before laying the paver to minimize how much it settles.  Then maybe jack up my new doubled 2x8s 1/16" before sliding the 4x4 under.

You folks rock, you know that?

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for saving me a bazillion dollars.

looking forward to the "after"shots

This is as far as I got today.  Yesterday was a busy day with a bunch of yearly doctor's and dentist appointments.  I did put out a call for help on FB for a handy friend.  I could theoretically do it alone, but 12' PT ain't light.  I dug a hole on the right wall today about 9 " x 24" wide and about a foot deep.  Mixed up 80 lbs of concrete, filled the hole, then embedded and leveled a 4x8x16 concrete block in it.  That's the lazy way to screed a pier level 

There was no support pier here before, so probably not necessary, but it will make a dandy pad for the jack if nothing else.

Ok, here we go. Today was the first real day of work. Had a buddy come help me. A genuine and hearty thank you for all the guidance.  Let me know if you can see the photos, I'm trying a new way of hosting.

Step 1: Screw 2x8 to the east wall through the studs. Used two 8 ton jacks to just support the weight. Remove bad double rim joist. This photo shows the old stuff gone. The first (outer) new 2x8 is in place. It went in as two pieces supported by my new concrete pier in the center.
 

Step 2: After shimming up the ends to proper height, the jacks were removed and a one-piece second 2x8 was added and shimmed up to match, then screwed together with HeadLoks every 8" or so. My buddy went a little overkill on the screws, but I didn't care a bit. Here is the second rim, installed, and being sistered to the first.  By the way, in this photo, take note of the debris in the bin at the bottom center of the picture.  That is how the old rim joists came out.  We basically grabbed it with our hands and crumbled it away from the wall.
 

Step 3: Moved the jack sill over to the south wall and supported that wall. Cut out the span joists. After getting the joists off and cutting the nails flush, I realized that this rim was more solid than I anticipated. The last foot or so in the corner was junk, as was a very small section in the middle. I made the decision to leave it there and just add a second PT rim on the inside.
 

Here it is with the new rim (in two pieces) installed on the south wall. Foundation repair done, and in the process (even though it wasn't my intent) we somehow ended up gaining our 1/2" elevation in the process... at least it appears as though that is the case. I'll know for sure when I get my nailer joist attached to the east wall and I can get an accurate measurement.
 

So, the whole thing has now had all the bad wood removed and replaced with all new PT. The south wall which was a single rim is now a double rim. Anything touching concrete is now PT. No one died, the walls didn't collapse, and I may have accidentally raised and trued the sills in the process. Tomorrow I need to get more KD 2x8 for span joists and install them, then I should be ready for shimming and subfloor.
 

Also, note to self... part of me is thinking I could have used this opportunity to build a sunken living room.  It would have really added complexity to my fireplace installation though.

I can't see the pics personally

try it now.  I think I fixed it.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

try it now.  I think I fixed it.

I see them now, that looks great! Nice work

At this point, I don't really expect replies.  This is the boring part.  I'm mostly documenting stuff just in case anyone needs a reference.

Taking my sweet time... partly because I want this just right, but also because I've been working alone for the last two days.  With the exception of a couple ups and downs in the lumber, the entire framing is within 1/16" of an inch.  That is to say, the ends and the center are all perfect within 1/16" of level.  I will follow up with sliding a 6' level across the joists and a shim as a feeler to identify lows and highs.  Anything more than about 3/32" will get shimmed unless it is just over a small area.  Trying to avoid having to use anything between the subfloor and the flooring.

Notice the one joist that isn't at 16" OC?  That's my solution to the odd width of the room.  It's 138" wide, so if I just pulled off one wall and did 16" OC, I would have to have a continuous seam following the joist that is at 96".  Since I want to stagger, I simply moved that joist 6" over.  That means I have one span of 10" and the next is 22".  This makes it so that I'm not exceeding a max span of 24", but it also puts a joist in the right spot for when I start with a full sheet on the left.  My urge to do things beefy might win, and I might put an extra joist in the larger span that is in the middle, but so far this is all complete overkill.  I'm trying to tell myself "I don't need that joist, so why add something else that might need shims and leveling?"  As it is, I could space them all at 24", remove that center support, and still be at 135 psi shear.

On the right wall you'll probably also see a 2x6 that is spaced out with some 1x scraps every 2' or so.  This is because the original sill had fallen about 1/2", so spacing it out gave me the ability to put a nailer rim at the right height.

This is looking way good ......did you have any difficulty getting PT at all......cuz Patrick was as ICR on a project at his place in Ohio?

I'd do everything on 16". You can still stagger the seam by just cutting the first one back to whatever lands.

You kinda want everything the same so you don't have a squishy spot or a weird feeling floor. Beefier is always better than lesser

PT was scarce, but they had plenty for a project this size.  Last month I was itching to do a deck out back and they had exactly zero 5/4 deck boards, and they were low on 2x6 PT.

I actually had trouble finding #2 BTR lumber.  I hit HD and got 8 (one of them questionable, but it can be a rim).  I had to get the other two from Lowe's.  I can now sell my house as "mixed species construction" because two of the floor joists are SYP and the others are Fir.

Antihero (Forum Supporter) said:

I'd do everything on 16". You can still stagger the seam by just cutting the first one back to whatever lands.

 

You kinda want everything the same so you don't have a squishy spot or a weird feeling floor. Beefier is always better than lesser

In that case, I'll go back and add the other joist in addition.  Since the room is 11'6" wide, cutting where it lands would require purchasing four extra sheets of the AdvanTech.  At $37 each, not something I would want to do.  If I go to 80", that leaves me a somewhat useless 16" scrap, but leaves 58" left to fill, leaving an odd leftover  If I do full 8's, that leaves me about 42" which means I can do two halves from one sheet.

At least in my brain, it seems like $13 for an extra joist and less cutting is the ticket?  Instead of more waste in the subfloor sheets?  Unless there is a reason that I'm not seeing.

So, I re-mathed and decided that everything on 16" centers would only cause me to buy one more sheet of subfloor, so I took your advice.  Everything is 16" OC now.

I traced over the joists with the 4' level and didn't see any dips or rises that really needed my attention.

Made a lot of progress today.  My buddy stopped over again and we were able to finish the joists and lay about 80% of the floor.  I even put new register boxes on the ducting (I kinda mangled the old ones getting them out).  The bonus is, I turned on the laser and measured in about 15 completely random places, and every time I got exactly 18-7/16"  That floor is level and flat, baby.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Looks very nice!

Not much has changed.  I'm waiting on the township to approve my permit for the fireplace.  Then once the fireplace is installed I can put the flooring around it.  I would hate to do a custom-mitered flooring around the fireplace only to discover I can't have a fireplace.

Subfloor is now complete and I have moved the laser level into the hallway to level and shim (oy, that is another project.  That one drops 1/2" in 3 feet.)

I have the recessed spot in the wall lined with backer board for additional fire resistance, and backer on the floor which will be both fire resistance under the box, and a substrate for some slate tile hearth material.

Fireplace roughed in.  Need to order Chimney on tuesday (since monday is a holiday) and get that on the way.

Been a while since I updated.

Floor is down and sexy as heck.  Fireplace is in, skinned with 1/2" backer, and the chimney is in.  Most importantly.... passed township inspection after his rigorous 15-second "yup, it's a fireplace" scrutiny.

Also (don't tell the inspector) but I have a gas log lighter that I plumbed in after he signed off :)

Brother-in-law/roofer dude came to help me not screw up cutting holes in my roof.  So far, no leaks.

That floor looks damned nice!

Why the subterfuge on the gas log lighter?  My grandparents had one of those back in "the day" and I'd never seen another since, so I assumed there was some sort of problem with them.

Honestly, I just didn't want the scrutiny.  I got the permit for the fireplace, but all electrical and gas inspections would have to be done by an independent ($$) inspector.  Plumbing I'm good.  I know what I'm doing there, and even had a licensed HVAC guy helping me out.  The only electrical part of this was adding an outlet.  I figured the less they know, the less I have to spend, the less red tape...

I don't think there are any problems with the log lighters.  They're sold on the shelves at Home Depot.  I just don't think anyone really cares for them.  So few people do wood burning fireplaces.  Usually if someone is adding gas to a fireplace, it's so they can have a gas log.  I prefer them because I can light the gas for a few minutes to get the draft going and then just stick a log or two on.  Saves the newspaper/kindling/smoke detector part of lighting a fire.

Also, big shout to Lotusseven7 for hooking me up with a visit to his lovely home, and pointing me toward Meshoppen Stone where I got the veneer.