Hi All, My husband and I are looking at a house that was built in the 50s. It's been vacant for over a year because of the foreclosure process and is just now going on the market. It's definitely a fixer-upper, but the majority of the issues are cosmetic (paint, ugly light fixtures etc). Our huge concern is in the kitchen. When you're facing the wall that has the sink, base and upper cabinets, and the stove on it, starting at about 3 feet from the wall, the floor starts sloping away from you (toward the wall). It's clear as day to the naked, untrained eye. It doesn't span the entire length of the wall and seems most noticeable under the sink. There is a full, unfinished basement, so we went downstairs to see if we could find any obvious damage. The utilities were not on, so it was hard to get a good look at the joists. We didn't notice any damage right off the bat. We're going to go back out this week to get pictures and do some more investigation, but given our lack of a background in this area I'm hoping you all can help me look in the right spots. Here's what I know about the house: *Block foundation with 8 foot ceilings in basement *Joists look to be on a 16 inch center, but I will measure to be sure. * the joists run from the back of the house to the front, so the wall that has the sink, cabinets and stove are parallel to the joists. the wall that the sag runs along does not appear to be load baring. So what information do I need to provide you to help me get a better idea of what we're up against. Eventually we will get an inspector, but I would like to have as much information as possible before we go that far. Thanks in advance for your help!

I've found span calculators for wooden floor joists, etc., on the internet, but nothing similar for steel I-beams (except for folks trying to sell software or books). I've calculated that for 15 lb. deadload and 30 lb. 'live' load, I can span at least 9' with 2x6 southern pine on 16" centers for floor joists. I want to rest those 2x6's between some 4x4 steel I-beam I have, which from memory is about 10 lbs. or so, per foot of steel, if that helps. My gut, and the minor 'sag' or 'give' I witness with known loads, suggests I am safe in putting those I-beams every 6', rather than the 9' or so that the wood is rated at. Does anyone have a calculator site at hand, or other informed advice? The 4" steel is already on hand and we're trying to keep the total floor support system to a minimum height. Thanks much.