Our house was built at the end of 2016. In a few areas they used a double/sistered floor joist. One of those beams has been bowing for the last few years causing a rise in the floor above. It's not much, about 1/2", but enough to be annoying and you can feel the slope when walking across it. Is there anything that can be done to remedy this? The joist is about 18ft long.
Thanks all wise GRM!
Is that a heating duct next to it?
Need a better picture showing more of it lengthwise.
It is rare they bow up (gravity). Are you sure a neighbor is not sinking. 18' is an unusually long span for a joist. In Florida that would have to be 2 x 10 a minimum of 16" on center #2 yellow pine.
One thought, might be crazy, put a large load on the floor, see it it bends down, then renail the two together. Load would be something like a lot of bags of concrete on a tarp.
In you picture the wood doesn't look like yellow pine, maybe lodgepole or spruce?
What area of the country?
Lolly column sister up or just replacement?
Are the two nailed together? I am thinking they are not based on the misalignment. You may be able to get leverage somehow and force them into alignment then nail the piss out of them so they can be "better together".
I should clarify, the bow is upward, not sagging. It is odd.
Here's the side angle view.
EDIT: In the pic immediately below, the left side rests on an I-beam, right side (out of frame) sinces on the basement wall.
Non-bowed side:
Is it possible that the joist is twisting due to lack of blocking? Twisting in the direction of the one that appears to be "bowing upward" would potentially cause a similar result.
If it is actually bowing vertically, you're going to be hard pressed to take the bow out short of relief cutting it with a jack post under it, letting it settle, then sistering that back up.
The non bowed side looks tight up against the subflooor too. Do the joists in question extend beyond that I beam much? They shouldn't, but if they do then a large load from the opposing side of the I beam would cause them to bow upward on the side you're looking at.
My first thought. I would cut both out and replace. Might be able to do without messing up flooring above. But first...Of course I would see if i could cut out the offending one. Cut both ends with a plunge saw and try to use a crowbar to pull it apart. Pull it down. Cut off nails coming down through floor with side grinder. Replace with a new joist with a lot of sub-floor adhesive to grab sub-floor and nails to attach to the straight one. You can slide it in both ends by narrowing it down and then inserting shims underneath to tighten it up.
YMMV I didn't sleep in a Holiday Inn last night.
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