Lifting up floors. 7 mistakes to avoid | Jacking and leveling sagging floors

Lifting up floors. 7 mistakes to avoid.
That was my 1st time doing this very difficult technical work and I made tons of mistakes I'm covering in this video:
1) Don't sit piers on the ground - pour the slabs as a footing.
2) You won't fix entire floors by lifting up just beams/girders.
3) Just putting extra beams across joists won't fix entire floor.
4) Bottle jacks can not be your permanent piers.
5) If you use cinder blocks don't place them face side up.
6) Do not use floor jacks from regular home improvement stores like Lowes and Home Depot.
7) Don't think you will make your floors perfect.
Sergii Soshka
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[@mms16mms16]

Using floor jacks can work. I completely agree that the HomeDepot/Lowes ones aren't very good and in my experience tend to rust after a few years. Ellis Manufacturing & PowerPost make vastly higher quality floor jacks that are properly galvanized. Also, when original and sistered beams don't align on the bottom edge an electric planer can quickly create a flush surface for the top of your jacks to sit.

[@MrAnderson5157]

They say Compliant with ICC, IRC, IBC building code, etc but you need lally columns. Check what your local codes require for plate sizes. Cement core heavier gage tubes. Footers and bolted.

[@rowanmurphy5239]

I'm about to use a cheap one, but I plan to use it in order to later install treated wood in place of the jack.

[@louish.9414]

I would use bottle jacks with screw jacks then use 4” wide metal post with concrete inside with the proper footing 😊

[@elisabethjones4917]

Also him just helped me avoid many mistakes I'm sure I would've made. Thank you very much!

[@ChitownMilcrib]

I'm currently leveling the floor at my house and had the same issues and couldn't agree more. This girder construction was definitely new to me and had to go off the outside walls to find the level height of the girder or beam .

[@joelk9603]

Very nicely done video, Sergii. Great tips, and clearly described. I will use your advice, thanks!

[@americanskeptic1559]

I loved your video. I like to be positive but i don't feel ready until i have seen the ways it could go wrong. I will consider all of these tips as i move forward

[@stevenhockett218]

Great video. Direct and to the point. No fluff.

[@MrHappy629]

Excellent. I was going to add a beam to lift several joists at once. After listening to you i am now going to sister each joist. Thanks.

[@zedoac6037]

Incredibly helpful!

[@JoeFidler]

Really good video man. Legit video and very informative. PS - how you only have 382 subs…keep pumping out content cause you’re good at it.

[@sergii_contractor]

Thank you so much! Means world to me!

[@williamblackmon7342]

Excellent advice. Wisdom is the product of knowledge coupled with experience.

[@pcno2832]

A friend of mine went through this when he was trying to sell his house in a hurry. He didn't think the sloping floors were a big deal when he bought it, but when he got transferred and had to sell, the agent told him it would drive away any customers that were willing to pay top dollar. He had several jacks in the cellar and kept trying to get everything level, but each time he raised the lowest point in a floor, the ceiling and the floor above it would end up crooked. After he had hired a contractor for other problems, he was told that the jacks he used would end up cracking the cellar floor, so he had them pour footings and install real lally columns. By the time he was done, the main floor looked OK, but the ceilings and the upstairs were still kind of Pee-Wee-Herman-esque. One useful trick for hiding these imperfections was a deep-pile carpet in the upstairs hall, another was a threshold under any door frame where the floors were going to be different heights. Coffered ceilings would have hidden more imperfections, but there was no time for that. He also spend some time fixing the cracks and reworking the door frames and baseboards to "split the difference" between competing angles. Glad to see your project came out so well; it looks like a nice location, despite the shaky ground.

[@sergii_contractor]

Sounds like his house was sinking badly for a while or they overdid it if the ceiling and framing started cracking... Can't make it perfect, but you can support and prevent further sagging!

[@MrAnderson5157]

@@sergii_contractor The joists are made to push the load out to the next beam as well. Bridging I dpnt think you touched on. It must be proper and it will stiffen the floor. When you move one object the rest can move with it. The bridging is notorious for putting floors uneven when moving thee entire structure. I remove them all, get everything where it goes and then put them back. Another thing is there is a difference between level and flat. "Level" is not necessarily where everything should be.

[@Monopolylife33]

Thanks so much! very informative 👍

[@michaelmccarthy4962]

Great video. Thanks!

[@JLFish21]

This was a great video!! Bidding on a house that will need some adjustment so this is very helpful

[@uglywomancan5594]

Very helpful. I'm in Michigan so concrete piers 42" below ground with cinderblock (the correct side up). I know those jacks would be a very temporary thing because they look so cheap.

[@Beek88]

My 100yr old house has pushed an entire railroad tie under the ground. Everything has buried itself. All rough cut, nothing is the same size. I work on houses I'm 35 and want to stop It from getting worse. Thank you

[@sabinolibros8052]

I’m doing something similar. I just want my house to be structurally more sound. I’m not worried about leveling it, since it’s pretty decent to be this old. It’s been a pain the rear, but I’m doing it little by little. Thanks for your video

[@DJ-ek5wi]

I am going to do like this ,thank you for giving me a lot of useful advice

[@sergii_contractor]

Good luck!

[@thomasmorrison3279]

Great information.

[@dchambers986]

Good work. On the floors and video. You give good advice. Your hard work is well shown in this video and it's very helpful for others. Thank you brother. P.S. I enjoyed the music :)

[@RapidRepair]

Thanks for this video

[@videomejoe]

Thanks Sergii

[@denanelson4705]

Thank you for this 😮video there were many issues that you discuss that sounded as if you were talking directly about my house😅

[@chriswallace3263]

Good tips, enjoyed your video

[@Toddtoddy78]

I’ve “leveled” a few homes. Your advice is solid. Usually the aim should be to avoid further contortion and or settling. Unbending a bent home can destroy things and is often unnecessary. Flattening of interior spaces can be achieved other ways.

[@Restoring1102]

looks very good

[@benjaminzedrine]

Thanks very much.

[@frankcaccamo3568]

Fantastic fun video. ❤😊

[@Foxtrot1967]

Hi, Great Video! How do you know where to start leveling? Laser? String Line? Low Spot? High Spot?

[@lancebland1308]

Very excellent

[@buddylewis2743]

nice job

[@grom7826]

Oh, I see you use your Yuppy Prius like a truck too ! Mine works great for hauling when my truck is too much. I fit 65 can lights, two sinks and many other building materials in mine one day.

[@A.KSalach]

Beat so hard I can’t concentrate🔥🔥

[@1bottlefed]

Great video my friend, The only thing I did not agree with, was using single wedges as a permanent solution to achieve the proper height. This creates a point load and over time it will indent the shim/and or beam. Shims should always be used in pairs (placed in opposite directions) so that the load is distributed along the entire surface of the shim. That said in the case of a heavy load like a floor you are a lot better off to determine the correct space using the shims then after you have done the entire floor, go back and cut wood to the correct width with a table saw etc. and then jack the floor up slightly and remove the shims and replace with your fabricated spacers.

[@sergii_contractor]

Great comment! I agree. On new project we jack floors on 1/8" higher than we need so we can put not the shim, but permanent support and then we releasing jack having floors sit on flat pier with fair surface. Not always might be an option tho, depending how bold you are jacking up as wood can start popping and some spots.

[@colethomas-ballinger2441]

Great comment, went under our house and saw that the shims that were put in last year were comletely crushed. Time to start over and not make the same mistake

[@dchambers986]

@@colethomas-ballinger2441 use mesquite or osage orange/bow'd arc or black locust. They won't be crushed and won't rot very fast either.

[@angetodac]

yeah, same here. and i have to fix it myself as i cannot afford the contractors price

[@danswaney4134]

I plan to use screw jacks as a permanent support which I can adjust some each day to resolve sagging until it stays. I know I can't jack it up completely at once and need to space it out between hours and days to give existing wood time to adjust so it doesn't split. Also, I have a laser self-level I'm going to use to measure the areas which need adjustment. They are so cheap these days you can get great ones for $200. As for bottle jacks, you can use them with another beam to help take pressure off the screw jacks while adjusting and then remove them. The screw jacks are steel and rated for 20 tons so they should do the job and look nice with reinforced concrete pads at their bottom to give a solid flat foundation.

[@josephstupar3372]

I tore up the floor replaced joists on one of my propertys we did 3 girder beams with 3-4 ft deep footers

[@chingli-xg4ns]

Trying this on a Mobile home. Any Tips?

[@darkflux]

bottle jacks cannot be used as permanent support (as you said), but also, if the floor is "dangerous to walk on" in any spots (as in, you may fall through without additional support), then jack posts are not allowed as permanent support either. they are only allowed as "supplementary support" so floors do not dip down. however, jack posts CAN work to help, even in YOUR situation. but you need to realize that ALL jack posts have a maximum weight limit, and houses weigh a TON (hundreds of tons, typically). so you really need more than just half a dozen jack posts, evenly spaced, for most houses, and NOT just in a single line, but evenly dispersed in the entire area of your crawlspace. they also sell "industrial" jack posts, that are denser and designed for holding heavier loads, which CAN minimize how many you need, but you should STILL disperse them evenly, and not just in a straight line. you gotta drop the beam down on them evenly to avoid bending the metal plates on them, and wasting your investment. and MOST importantly, you must drop it down SLOWLY, so you can gauge how much flexing is going on, both in the jack posts and the wooden cross-beam, as even a 6x6 beam can flex and crack! it takes a team effort to do it right and drop the whole house evenly on the support posts or piers.

[@Z-Ack]

Is hairy work for a beginner diy’er. You could be jacling up a main support lvl and have it crack and cause the whole thing to come down on you. Also you could cause a fracture on the beam that goes unnoticed and one day it gives out.. or you could cause the framing for the roof to get twisted and break where its been slowly moving over time then suddenly jacked back into place.. but as long as you’re cautious and observant you should be ok. In the states you require a permit to do the work though along with a structural engineered opinion:.

[@johnstrom2721]

I'm using 3x3x1/4" tube steel across several 15' & 17' spans with 20 ton bottle jacks on wood bases. Once I get the floors to the correct height, I'll use 6x6 posts cut to height & shim & anchor everything. I'm not looking forward to digging the holes for the concrete bases, but then, it's just work.

[@sergii_contractor]

In my area the argument against permanent short wood posts from the ground is hazard of termites. Also curious about 3x3 steel tubes, 1/4" thickness sounds solid, but depending on weight of construction, the metal edge can penetrate into the wood, I've never done those tho.

[@johnstrom2721]

@@sergii_contractor The tube steel has radiused corners/edges and will have the same impact to the existing wood as using new wood (beams). However, if you're concerned about the weight vs the 3" contact, you can also use a larger steel plate to help disperse that weight. of course, the edges of a plate wouldn't come radiused or with any relief.

[@sergii_contractor]

@@johnstrom2721 technically your contact is not 3" by 3" solid surface, but 1/4" edge of 3" by 3" so I'm not sure. Bottle jack can penetrate into the wood depending on weight (I have some future video coming with those), so 1/4'' thick tube even more so...

[@johnstrom2721]

@@sergii_contractor You're right. my metal plates are literal 4" x 4", although the floor joists aren't 4" thick. Good grief.

[@denanelson4705]

Could you share how you stabilized the dirt floor before installing the jacks please?

[@sergii_contractor]

Poured footings. I'm talking about it in the video.

[@normbograham]

b.t.w. The last floor we had sink, and bounce, was shockingly not attached to the house. It was fairly much a deck, that had a few 2x4's legs that rotted. The 2x6's were 12' long, (shocking), and dated in the mid 1970s, so, they had been there for 50 years.

[@sergii_contractor]

Everybody built all different type of crazy stuff back in a day especially in small towns or outskirt areas.

[@pcno2832]

2:24 Something tells me that little hatchback-crossover-SUV is going to weigh in just a tad over its limit. I'm actually surprised the tires didn't pop.

[@sergii_contractor]

That's mine lol 10 years in and still holding 😄

[@mms16mms16]

@@sergii_contractor I was going to say.... next project: replacing the shocks on my SUV

[@sergii_contractor]

@@mms16mms16 that baby is still running 😄

[@ions82]

​@@sergii_contractor Here's to hoping it doesn't blow the tires out the next time you're moving 1,000+ pounds of concrete.

[@atchmon902]

Wish i had more room to implement this. I have only 9 inches of space between joists and ground.

[@sergii_contractor]

Crazy, now building code requires at least 18 inches.

[@southfloridayachtcharters]

Where do you buy floor jacks or piers if not from home depot or lowes?

[@sergii_contractor]

Good question and I really do not know about my area particular. I think there is handful number of construction supply stores with heavy duty materials in big municipalities, outside of those overused home improvement generic stores everyone is used to go to.

[@h2s142]

You can use simpson post bases and associated 4x post, you can also weld up your own post shores to make them adjustable if your soil conditions change. There are numerous ways to skin this cat. An engineer is ideal, he will draw you some basic details to get you on track.

[@normbograham]

do not put houses on cinderblocks. use solid blocks.

[@chrisking4636]

Lifting a house too quickly can cause serious problems.

[@sergii_contractor]

Agreed, some framing wood can get snapped. In a perfect world after pin pointing areas to lift should go gradually on those, like 1/4 of an inch per a week, to let the wood settle and get reshaped since it's relatively flexible material under certain time and conditions.

[@Liazon098]

I never knew there was a tool that you shove in the ground to....What... See how soft it is??? You shoved 2 meters of a metal stick in the ground! Like what I'm saying is that was amazing

[@redsoxvette]

Thank you for the tips Russian Christopher Walken

[@fafoorita]

I’m glad I read this close to the end, 😂

[@wwfera00]

The these mistakes also apply to mobile homes?

[@sergii_contractor]

Some, well different structure to jack.

[@garretttwiddy482]

Why not use steal shims under your joist instead of wood that will over time compress/fail?

[@sergii_contractor]

That's possible, but they don't come in shapes as triangle wood ones with slope, they all go like flat sheets as far as I seen

[@erg0centric]

"I was well prepared" Twelve bags of concrete in my SUV, broke the suspension.

[@elisabethjones4917]

When you hired the contractor to help you hire much was it? Was it cheaper because he was helping you? How do you find someone like that? And now long did the overall process take? It's it easy or cheaper to just scrap the whole thing and rebuild?

[@sergii_contractor]

He was my buddy, but nothing cheap.. Sometimes it’s worth to rebuild, depending on framing in crawlspace, we could work with our. Tune in for next video on my channel: “How to rebuild crawlspace in small one story house”, might be helpful to decide.

[@h2s142]

There is no way to give a knowledgeable answer to your question with out a detailed inspection off the structure and soil. I have done this process so many times. Get an engineer to draw up some details for you that will prevent guessing.

[@Clark-Mills]

10:08 Silicosis anyone? Perhaps wear a dusk mask suitable for the occasion... :) Irrespective, thank you for your experience. I personally learnt the hard way that you don't use a bottle-jack directly on the ends of a 4" square post...

[@sergii_contractor]

Def needed mask

[@WilliamVG]

We are in the market for buying a house, unfortunately in our area most houses have a crawl spaces and sold as is. Almost every one of them has serious structual issuess with floors sagging as much as 4" in large room! Be careful guys!

[@sergii_contractor]

If it's small house you can rebuild crawlspace: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHi2mmmphrOKeNk

[@karinapena7520]

I have a house the first floor does not feel like it has any slope on the floor my basement is dry no water damage sign .how ever 2 bedroom upstairs do feel uneven,i also was told that it cannot be repair 😅 how true is this ?

[@sergii_contractor]

Framing/subfloor between first and second floor might start giving up due to aging or improper built..

[@sergii_contractor]

Everything can be repaired, but you might end up with piers in the middle of your living room on the first floor if that's the spot to put it to support or jack the framing between floors.

[@karinapena7520]

You're pretty right on that. It's an old pennsylvania house from 1920 , which has been renovated .I was told the stairs is the weakest place and I can't change the stairs bcs it would be a very expensive fix. At this point I'll see if I can fix the framing/subfloor. Rent it out and let it sit for its remaining years 😅 doubt I'll live 100 more years anyway... lol, thanks for your reply

[@sergii_contractor]

@@karinapena7520 Will be expensive fix almost regardless... if to make it right. And might not necessary it makes sense to fix it at all depending on cost, what exactly needs to be done and your future plans with the property.

[@richardkuether8323]

Do I have to worry about the critters in my crawl space, spiders, snakes, etc ?

[@sergii_contractor]

Sure. You can buy disposable protective gear in home improvement stores. Spiders are cool though.

[@dchambers986]

Get some weatherproof extension cords and run some lights and fans. That will help more than anything. You can see them and it will run most of the them out. Move in slowly and it gives them time to vacate. There could be some critters that have set up camp/home/nest, if that's a skunk with babies - or anything with with babies, might not wanna move. Use a spot light to look carefully for any such critters. I would send a dog in first, if you have a good one (not a house dog, obviously).

[@popejoeii]

Random question, but what type of jacks did you end up using if the bottle and spin type didn't work out for you?

[@sergii_contractor]

Cinder blocks and wood boards with shims

[@h2s142]

Weld up your own post shores qnd aave money. Make sure your piers are 6” off soil

[@peterk4134]

Using hydraulic jacks to jack up or, to raise the floor is not lifting the floor.

[@TheCrusades1099]

29k views... at least like the video!

[@highlifela7139]

Those are jack ... Stands. Not Jack's

[@michaelfitzgerald8727]

Someone forgot their respirator while grinding.

[@sergii_contractor]

Agreed

[@jeromegarcia5396]

Stop doing this people, it's tons of work for nothing because you are not accounting for warped joist. You can try to do all this but it's impossible to unwarp wood. The correct way fix this is to remove floors and sub floors down to just joist and you sister new lumber "crown up" and both ends must meet the sill plates. You work from above instead of on your back, and you actually fix the problem and add value to your home... Just saying... Once you start jacking up areas and possibly cracking old lathe and plaster, and still have unlevel floors you might as well just spend a few hundred to actually do it right, and faster...

[@sergii_contractor]

You are right about easier, by not crawling in tight spots living life there. But I completely disagree with what you mentioned regarding cost, it's definitely not few hundred, but few thousand removing all plywood and putting new one and then few more thousand removing flooring and putting new one, when in my case on this video I had hard wood and just resurfaced it. Not everyone got extra 4-5k and more for all new materials to put, especially nowadays.

[@jeromegarcia5396]

@@sergii_contractor few hundred for the joist... Yes thousands for everything after fixing the floor joist... But until you do it doesn't matter what you have as flooring until you fix the problem... And I'm very sure you spent a few thousand already for contractor, cement blocks, cement, lumber and jacks... 🤷 I feel you not everyone has it, but we are talking about fixing the floor joist correct? Stages, but first joist, then sub for and the flooring. If in fact the floor isn't level you'd have to resurface everything again if you did level it with jacks because you sanded while it wasn't leveled... Just saying you probably going to have to let go of the hardwoods, or just settle with unlevel floors.. I literally got done self leveling a 3 foot hallway where the was a 2 inch difference from each side, this was after the guy did everything you already done, but completely defeated and wanting to get rid of the house now... In all reality he should of fixed everything from the top... So yes you may spend a few thousand as any job on a house, and me as a contractor crawling under houses maybe I'm a snob and unfairly equating the value id charge vs working from on top 😂 and I don't value hardwoods, after stains and carpets, hell to properly resurface those cost thousands and a week... I feel ya though, I do like you put proper effort in under the house, but I'm almost 50, 6"1, 250 and just suggesting under a house I think in thousands 🤣🤣🤣

[@sergii_contractor]

@@jeromegarcia5396 Just couple of remarks: 1) This is mostly DIY channel, particular this video, so with DIY way the difference between removing everything and sistering, putting new plywood and floor and doing work yourself will be I would say around 5k at least depending on size. With material prices jacked up can go way more. It all depends on who operates what budget.. 2) You can not sand down unleveled wood floors making them better leveled allegedly taking more of the wood in high spots lol The belt sander goes up and down over the surface like snowmobile on mountains 3) Agreed, the job is very difficult, physically challenging and gets annoying, I can see people regret starting it. And won't make perfect results, but will definitely save the house from farther sinking and will provide with better look if done properly

[@jeromegarcia5396]

@@sergii_contractor Stop it. There's a right way to do it... DIY has nothing to do with it. If you don't know how then stop... Professionals are called that for a reason. Take the advice or not, but professionals like myself charge more because everyone thinks they can do something and can't and by the time a professional touches it it's not just a basic job... If you claiming to save a house from further damage it will be to do it correctly. All I said. This information is to help those who are yet to try this and thinking about short cuts, don't... Do it right

[@sergii_contractor]

@@jeromegarcia5396 Could of start from this, that you are contractor who does this type of work and DIY videos take bread off your table. I displayed on the video that project was done successfully. Obviously you offering the best way to fix the problem, but it will cost from 5 to 10k more, not everyone got those money, end of story.

[@louish.9414]

Great video showing his mistakes Republicans take Notes 📝 😅

[@anonymousone2559]

What state is your home located in

[@sergii_contractor]

South Carolina