Dipped Floor on First Floor of 2 Family home

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Dipped Floor on First Floor of 2 Family home

Mahran Izoli
Providence, RI · Member since 2016 · 3 posts · 0 votes

Hi All, 

I just purchased a 2 family home in Providence, RI. Currently, the first floor has a some pretty substantial dips in it. I'm not sure if its the sub floor or the joists underneath. 

My question is: Should I go through the repair prior to renting the unit? Or should I wait until I have more cash saved to repair down the line. I don't want to risk spending too much time on it losing out on potential rental income. The unit is in decent shape and definitely livable. I've attached some photos. Would love to hear some opinions on what actions you all would take if in a similar situation. 

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Brian DancePro Member
Engineer · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2014 · 19 posts · 15 votes
6y

@Mahran Izoli, Structural engineers look at two main things: (1) safety....i.e. are the joist(s) or its connection going to fail, and (2) deflection of the joist(s)...i.e. how much they dip. The joist(s) could be fine from the safety standpoint, but the fire, or time, could cause the joist(s) to deflect past its limits. This does happen over time and is probably not a big deal, but as Anthony mentioned above, it may cause some tenants to pass on your place. Your engineer can likely provide some recommendations on how to decrease (not eliminate) the deflection of the joist(s), by jacking up the original joist(s) as mentioned above and sistering another joist onto 1 or both sides of the existing. 

Hope this helps!

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  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    6y

    That is probably a sagging joist and might be easily fixed with some jack posts and a couple of people. You got to jack slowly and over a couple of days. If not, for a rental that wasn't getting a total rehab, as long as the floor isn't soft in that point I don't know that I would do a lot to it. Old houses settle over time and sometimes you can cause other problems by fixing the sags, like binding windows, cracking plaster and drywall, and jamming doors/doorways. 

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  • Mahran Izoli
    OP
    Providence, RI · Member since 2016 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    6y

    Thanks JD! Im going to have someone take a look at the joists in the basement. The issue there is there was actually a fire in the basement years ago. So some of the floor joists are a little charred so I'm curious how jacking them up would affect their integrity. Prior to purchasing the home I had a structural engineer inspect the joists and deemed them safe and satisfactory based on the PSI and solid material remaining, but didn't notice the floor dip until after the tenants vacated the unit. 

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  • Anthony ThompsonPro Member
    Buy and Hold Investor · Cranston, RI · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    6y

    @Mahran Izoli if you can afford it at all, I would recommend making the repair.

    In my experience, letting a problem sit will just make it take longer and cost more in the long run.

    And some repairs - like this one - are a lot easier when a unit is vacant.

    You could also ask that structural engineer to come back in and give you an opinion on the floor dip / sagging joists, especially since you already have a relationship there.

    If the dip is noticeable, which it sounds like it is, then if you don't fix it you'll definitely need to have an answer ready for when prospective tenants ask you about it. You may also find it harder to rent if people think there might be an unsafe condition (even the engineer says it's fine).

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  • Brian DancePro Member
    Engineer · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2014 · 19 posts · 15 votes
    6y

    @Mahran Izoli, Structural engineers look at two main things: (1) safety....i.e. are the joist(s) or its connection going to fail, and (2) deflection of the joist(s)...i.e. how much they dip. The joist(s) could be fine from the safety standpoint, but the fire, or time, could cause the joist(s) to deflect past its limits. This does happen over time and is probably not a big deal, but as Anthony mentioned above, it may cause some tenants to pass on your place. Your engineer can likely provide some recommendations on how to decrease (not eliminate) the deflection of the joist(s), by jacking up the original joist(s) as mentioned above and sistering another joist onto 1 or both sides of the existing. 

    Hope this helps!

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  • Brandon Ingegneri
    Rental Property Investor · Providence, RI · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 594 votes
    6y

    @Mahran Izoli

    I would investigate first to see if it is settling, or floor joists that need to be reinforced.  You may very well just have to add some lolly columns in the basement to jack the center stick.  If it is sagging on one floor and not multiple floors, it most likely is a joist issue as opposed to the entire property settling.  If that is the case, jacking up a temporary brace that spans the impacted joists will be step one.  From there, ensuring the correct dimensional lumber joists are properly secured will fix the issue.  

    Other option as a quick fix is to put down some self leveler to even out the dip in the floor and then install laminate floors.  

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