Lapped Joists Are Seperating


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Old 01-05-13, 03:40 PM
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Lapped Joists Are Seperating

Hi,

At one end of my house, my lapped joists have become separated over the house's main beam.

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I know that the main beam and its supports should be shored up, and I intend to address that, but I'm wondering if in the meantime it would make sense, or is necessary, to try and bring these joists back together.

If yes, what is the best approach? The best thing I can think of is to pass long bolts through and slowly tighten the nut, possibly a little at a time over days/weeks.

Would love any advice.

Thanks.
 
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Old 01-05-13, 04:17 PM
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Joists should usually have solid blocking installed between them when they are sistered and rest on top of a beam like that. The short tail that sticks out beyond the beam is not carrying any load, so I wouldn't worry about it overly much. The diagonal flooring might be nailed to it, but other than that, it's beyond the load bearing point. Bolting wouldn't hurt, anything though.
 
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Old 01-05-13, 04:24 PM
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I've done some of this. First I see how far I can go with some bar clamps, then I use 5/16 or 3/8 spax screws which have pretty wide heads. Usually this pulls things together. Lag bolts with wide washers would also work, but the results won't be as clean and flush as the spax screws.

In your photo it looks like one of the joists is cupped enough that it might crack some when you straighten it. You could try going slow, but my feeling is that it could take a really long time.

I wonder if you could wet the side of the joist over and over until it de-cups. I've never actually tried this on an old floor joist, but when wood gets wet outside it can cup rather quickly, so maybe the same method could be used to reverse it.
 
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Old 01-05-13, 04:29 PM
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It looks like he has utilities running through, so adding blocking now probably isn't the way to go, plus it's so nice to have those bays clear for future utilities or storage.

I think it should be fixed. The tail isn't load bearing but the joist does need to be kept plumb. It'll just keep turning and turning if it isn't secured.
 
 

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