Basement Beam Help

4 years ago

Hello! i just purchased a home and the main basement beam is really worrying me. the home inspector said everything was fine and the structure of the house was ok. there are no cracks on walls or floor separation. should i be replacing it?

Featured Answer

Steve C

4 years ago

It's a bit tricky to comment on this because it's really a structural framing question & not a woodworking question...

But, generally not acceptable to notch the ends of joists this way. It's a pretty simple fix however.

I would find a local carpenter to:

Put up a temporary bearing wall a couple of feet back from the beam,

Remove the 2x4 ledger,

Sister new joists onto those that have been cut back,

Install double joists hangers at the ends of each repaired joists,

Remove temporary bearing wall

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Comments (6)

worthy
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Proving again the uselessness of many "home inspectors".

I see at least four butchered floor joists and a failing built-up beam (one member is twisting and falling away). The maximum permissible notch at the end of a 2x10 is 2 3/8" not 8"+/-!

Hire a qualified framing carpenter, who will likely do as suggested above plus repairing the main beam and whatever else is not immediately apparent.
Bea Iraida thanked worthy
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PRO
GN Builders L.L.C
4 years ago
@worthy, couldn't agree with you more, you have a major structural issue there and it needs to be addressed ASAP.

Don't forget to send a bill to your home inspector.
3onthetree
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
The pics aren't clear or at the top of joist, but it appears your ledger board has detached. It appears your main beam is a (2) ply, with a 2x4 ledger attached on either side to support the floor joists. When a load is applied directly downward, it forces the member to twist (here because it couldn't overcome the shear strength of the nails). This ledger method is how it was done in previous eras, and is still accepted by modern building code. In fact, here is IRC Table R602.3(1) fastening schedule for ledgers:

It also appears the floor joists on one side have sunk because of the twisting. So they would need raised to mount flush up against the beam and have 1 1/2" bearing on the ledger.

If there are more failing than just the two(?) ledgers shown (4 or 5 joists?), then the size of notch and whether to do more work for hangers should be evaluated. But just as a repair, putting it back to original should suffice.
Bea Iraida thanked 3onthetree
Bea Iraida
Original Author
4 years ago
Thank you! i have reached out to 3 local framing carpenters to evaluate the damage and give me a quote.

a couple of other questions:

do you know approximately how much i should be expecting to pay for this?

does it look like there is imminent tgreat? should i vacate the home immediately?
3onthetree
4 years ago
I would have no idea how much it could be. They will have to lift the joists. Depending on what is above, or what caused this could matter. If the previous owner installed a new floor and leveled it with the dropped joists then that is an issue. It's game time decisions with whoever can evaluate in person. I would say it has been that way for a while and getting progressively worse, so no need to vacate. Just no jumping jacks in lead boots right over that part of the floor. You can easily buy a few 2x4s and prop them underneath those joists.