Our 1994 2 story house has a slight dip in the kitchen floor. It is hard to measure, but it looks like a 1/4" dip over a 6 foot length by 3 foot width.

In the basement, the I-beam sits in a cement-block wall, and the first metal support is about 8 feet from this wall. The dipped section sits about 2 feet away from the beam, and the long dimension of the dip follows the beam. Envision a line with an oval drawn under it (barely touching) and you'll get a good overhead view of the situation.

The cement floor has a few cracks, but the cement wall has none. The floor joists show no indication of cracking or bending. Above the kitchen, there is no major weight loads, so I suspect the problem is below.

I was considering renting a laser level and seeing if the beam is level. Would this be a good place to start? Anything else I should look for? Thanks.

 

teddymines,

I guess I would star by trying a 4 or 6 ft level on the beam, see what is happening. You have done above in the kitchen but what about the beams below - check all between the steel support posts.

Am I right in assuming that there is a gap between the beam or plate atop the beam and the joists?

Let me know

 

teddymines,

Also check the floor joists as well on each side of the beam, are we seeing major differences there as well within the areas that you are talking about?

 

It turns out that the fridge is the culprit. The center of the fridge is about 3.5 feet from the i-beam, and a static load of 500+ lbs is probably too much when so far from the beam.

A friend suggested I raise the floor to level from beneath using a bottle jack against a perpendicular beam spanning 4 floor joists. Then I will scab 2x8's (structural material) against the sides of the 2x10 floor joists using shoulder bolts. The ends will have squash blocks that sit on the beam and the sill.

I forgot the name of the material for the 2x8's, but it is a wood/epoxy product that is supposed to be very strong.

Would anyone recommend some sort of construction adhesive to minimize motion between the 2x8 and 2x10?

 

teddymines,

I guess you're talking about the use of a LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) which would be very strong. You could put some construction adhesive between them, nail and bolt. It should work fine. I'm surprised by what you found but I hope this resolves your issues.

Thanks for letting us know!