To sister or leave alone?

5 years ago

Hey all. We bought a 1970s house about 6 months back where the previous owner had painted the basement black. We did some refurb on the ground floor that included replacing a vinyl kitchen floor with about 2000lb of ceramic tile, cement board etc. Now I'm starting to see moderate cracks opening up in one basement joist below the retiled kitchen - thanks to the black paint I can see that the crack is new. But now I'm debating whether it warrants sistering the joist (difficult because of cabling) or throwing a column under it, or is it minor enough that I can just wait to see if it grows further? Suggestion appreciated!

Featured Answer

rwiegand

5 years ago

Looks like an ordinary crack in a knot, probably been there forever. Are you getting cracks in your tile? That would be an indicator of movement.

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Comments (8)

worthy
5 years ago
Watch for further damage. Or use steel wall bracing straps, which avoid cable intrusions.

Floor Joist Hole Repair Kit

If that hole is in the middle third of the joist, consider a repair kit.
kudzu9
5 years ago
Are you sure the crack is new? What I see in the picture may simply be an old crack that didn't have paint go into it.
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PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
5 years ago
I wouldn't worry.
Emily
5 years ago
I would get a structural engineer in to take a look. Cracks in the joist do not sound good. You don’t want your floor to cave in.
kudzu9
5 years ago
A structural engineer is overkill. That main crack is in a knot which is very typical, and you can see that the crack stops at the perimeter of the knot, which is indicative that the floor is not about to cave in.
Adrian
Original Author
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Thanks for your comments. Looking back at older photos I think there was a crack there when we bought the house, but it was closed up, which is why it didn't get any paint inside. Since we've added the extra floor load, the crack has opened but not extended beyond the knot. So for now, based on comments, I think I'll watch it and if it does start to extend beyond the knot, quickly throw a column under it then maybe brace it with some strongtie product.
PRO
Charles Ross Homes
5 years ago
Be careful implementing any change as you might crack the tile and/or grout.