Strengthen Attic Floor Joists

Where they connect to both the top and bottom joists each gusset pair will transfer approximately 100 pounds that s 50 psf of floor load times the 3 foot gusset spacing times the 16 inch joist spacing divided by the two joists.

Strengthen attic floor joists.

Pretty sure you mean joists not rafters rafters are the sloped members that run directly under your roof whereas joists are the horizontal members that sit atop the ceiling of the floor below the attic. I went to get a permit from the city to finish the attic and they said i needed to reinforce the floor since for a live load it was not strong enough for our span below about 12. This is a great answer. Set a hydraulic jack and post under the beam and jack up the joists about 1 8 in.

Plywood firmly fastened to the undersides of joists helps prevent this side to side bending and stiffens the floor. In my 80 year old house the attic had 2x6 floor joists about 16 oc. Tack a beam under the sagging joists. Now it is time to use some wood and screw it into place on the original joist as well as the cross beam.

Gluing and screwing a 3 4 attic subfloor and providing solid bridging should also be considered. Nailing two 2x4s together will work to span about three joists unless the sag is under a weight bearing wall. You will have to use a very sturdy piece of wood or some steel plating to reinforce the floor joists. A layer of 3 4 in.

Strengthening attic joists for live loads by sistering if the attic joists are not adequate one way to strengthen the floor for live loads is to sister the old joists. A steel plate can be used the same way. Sistering is the process of adding a new joist next to each existing joist. You can however strengthen the joists by securing another length of wood to the existing joist called sistering or reduce wobbly floors with block inserts between the joists called.

Adding a 2 x 4 along the bottom chord of the 2 x 6 ceiling floor joist maybe helpful in stiffening the joist as well. Jacking them up too fast may cause cracks in the walls and floors overhead. Squeaks in a floor usually mean that the subfloor has loosened from the joists. I recommend three gusset pairs per joist at the quarter points one about every 3 feet.

A day until they re level.