Supporting Wall for Sagging Ceiling

14 years ago

Just bought a house, had an inspection done, the house is an old old house but is holding up very well. There was a fireplace removed which centered between the dining and living room. This whole structure ceases to exists and hence the bedrooms upstairs have bouncy floor due to lack of support.

The joists to both floors are running in the same direction and the wall will be running perpendicular to the joists (90 degrees).

The main floor has laminate, which I learned needs to be pulled up so that the wall can be put in place. The house already has numerous jacks in basement for foundation issues, and seems pretty even other wise. Is it correct that a supporting wall should not be placed on laminate flooring?

I am concerned about this wall - how do I go about constructing it? materials? nails? measurements? How do I jack up the floor above so that the 2 beams I want to add are providing the required support to eliminate the wobble? What is the standard measurement in between each post in the wall? Should all posts and beans be encased in a rectangular frame?

For these beams what should be the size? I'm looking at just a pretty simple frame of a rectangular archway between the two rooms. Maybe add in 2 French doors or something to that effect.

Any comments or direction to more info that any one can provide is greatly appreciated. If you need more info. please just ask.

Is it okay to paint the rooms above before I place in this wall or should I focus on the wall first?

Comments (6)

macv
14 years ago
You need to get an experienced person to help you. These issue are serious and this is just the beginning of the problems you will need to solve in an old house.
mike_kaiser_gw
14 years ago
With all due respect, it sounds like you might be in a little over your head. I think you would be wise to hire a professional to evaluate the situation.
brickeyee
14 years ago
The local AHJ is liable to want to see actual plans, possibly with an architect or PE seal.

You cannot just add weight bearing walls without considering where the weight is going to end up.

Additional support under the wall to earth is likely to be needed, or the floor of the lower room can sag from the additional load it was never designed for.
mike_kaiser_gw
14 years ago
Brickeyee has an excellent point, you can't simply transfer loads from one point to another without considering the impact of those loads.

Just to clarify AHJ stands for "Authority Having Jurisdiction" which, for most of us in residential construction, means the local building department or code enforcement department.
macv
14 years ago
AHJ can also stand for:
Alternative Health Journal
Anthropology & Health Journal
Australian Hardware Journal
Accounting Historians Journal
American Heart Journal
African Heartland Journeys
Atlas Hydraulic Jack
Australian Hair Journal
Anthracite History Journal
Air Hydraulic Jack
Administrative Hearings Judge
Aim Higher Jets
Acorn Holidays Japan

Here is a link that might be useful: AHJ
brickeyee
14 years ago
In the construction area it is 'Authority Having Jurisdiction.'

Sometimes a city, county, or town, or even a state government office responsible for building safety and inspections.