ᐅ Ceiling between the ground floor and first floor has sagged / leveling needed
Created on: 24 Jun 2019 16:40
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xkeeper84X
xkeeper8424 Jun 2019 16:40Hello dear forum,
My wife and I have bought a semi-detached house built in 1929. I have removed a lot so far and found that the floor on the first floor (1st floor) is about 4 cm (1.5 inches) lower at its lowest point. The ceiling is made of wood.
Currently, there are still chipboards on the floor.
Now I want to level the floor in order to lay tiles or parquet afterwards.
At the moment, I am unsure about the best way to approach this.
One option I am considering is filling the floor with leveling compound. The disadvantages are the added weight, the large amount of leveling compound required which is quite expensive, and the relatively high brittleness.
Another option would be to remove the chipboards, apply a leveling fill, and then install dry screed panels. The downside here is the slightly higher floor buildup in an already low room. Also, I am not yet sure how load-bearing the area between the wooden joists is.
Now to my question: Do you know of any other alternatives or how would you handle this?
Thank you in advance for your opinions and suggestions.
My wife and I have bought a semi-detached house built in 1929. I have removed a lot so far and found that the floor on the first floor (1st floor) is about 4 cm (1.5 inches) lower at its lowest point. The ceiling is made of wood.
Currently, there are still chipboards on the floor.
Now I want to level the floor in order to lay tiles or parquet afterwards.
At the moment, I am unsure about the best way to approach this.
One option I am considering is filling the floor with leveling compound. The disadvantages are the added weight, the large amount of leveling compound required which is quite expensive, and the relatively high brittleness.
Another option would be to remove the chipboards, apply a leveling fill, and then install dry screed panels. The downside here is the slightly higher floor buildup in an already low room. Also, I am not yet sure how load-bearing the area between the wooden joists is.
Now to my question: Do you know of any other alternatives or how would you handle this?
Thank you in advance for your opinions and suggestions.
First, you should clarify why it has sagged like this! It sounds as if the wooden beams are bending. That would be quite unusual.
A good solution to level this out is the following:
Remove chipboards or similar, then attach tongue-and-groove boards (they should be about 4cm (1.5 inches) thick) to the sides of the beams, making sure they are level, and screw them into the beams. Then lay OSB boards on top, and after that, you can install your floor. If you are using tiles, keep in mind that you need to be very careful, as they can crack. Also, if you ever want to remove the tiles, that is not an easy task.
A good solution to level this out is the following:
Remove chipboards or similar, then attach tongue-and-groove boards (they should be about 4cm (1.5 inches) thick) to the sides of the beams, making sure they are level, and screw them into the beams. Then lay OSB boards on top, and after that, you can install your floor. If you are using tiles, keep in mind that you need to be very careful, as they can crack. Also, if you ever want to remove the tiles, that is not an easy task.
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xkeeper8412 Jan 2020 21:22Good evening, and thank you in advance for your answers.
The current status of the project is as follows:
The extension in timber frame construction is up and weather-tight. The stripping-out has been completed, and most of the electrical wiring and heating pipes have also been installed. I am progressing slower than expected, which is due to a change in my job situation.
Now we can move on to the construction of the house.
The question I asked earlier is still relevant. Based on your responses, I have decided to follow the advice to use boards attached at the sides to level the floor. Many thanks for that tip.
However, two more questions have come up that I keep encountering but have rarely seen adequately answered.
First, should the space between the joists be filled with loose fill material? If so, are the inserted boards strong enough to support this additional fill without it pressing out into the ground floor below? Or does the weight of the screed panels, residents, furniture, etc., distribute mainly onto the attached battens, with little downward pressure on the fill?
The second question concerns impact sound insulation. If I lay the dry screed panels directly on the battens, will the impact sound then be transmitted to the wooden joists and thus to the rest of the house? Would it be better to use screed panels with an underlying layer of wood fiber, mineral wool, or foam instead?
Thank you again for your answers.
The current status of the project is as follows:
The extension in timber frame construction is up and weather-tight. The stripping-out has been completed, and most of the electrical wiring and heating pipes have also been installed. I am progressing slower than expected, which is due to a change in my job situation.
Now we can move on to the construction of the house.
The question I asked earlier is still relevant. Based on your responses, I have decided to follow the advice to use boards attached at the sides to level the floor. Many thanks for that tip.
However, two more questions have come up that I keep encountering but have rarely seen adequately answered.
First, should the space between the joists be filled with loose fill material? If so, are the inserted boards strong enough to support this additional fill without it pressing out into the ground floor below? Or does the weight of the screed panels, residents, furniture, etc., distribute mainly onto the attached battens, with little downward pressure on the fill?
The second question concerns impact sound insulation. If I lay the dry screed panels directly on the battens, will the impact sound then be transmitted to the wooden joists and thus to the rest of the house? Would it be better to use screed panels with an underlying layer of wood fiber, mineral wool, or foam instead?
Thank you again for your answers.
H
hampshire12 Jan 2020 23:35If the structural calculations are correct, a 4cm (1.5 inches) difference in depth at one spot can sometimes add character rather than being a defect. You can also adjust the furniture accordingly.
Impact sound insulation means decoupling. If you're unlucky and the joists transfer vibrations perfectly, it will simply remain noisy.
Impact sound insulation means decoupling. If you're unlucky and the joists transfer vibrations perfectly, it will simply remain noisy.
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Mottenhausen13 Jan 2020 12:51I would prefer to fill the spaces between the joists with mineral wool, as it is also better suited for sound insulation. The most important questions for the floor structure are: what is allowed by the ceiling height in the upper floor AND: what do the load-bearing capacity and budget allow?
If there are no limitations, you can go for the full setup with OSB boards on the joists, then insulating screed and heated screed, creating a high-quality, decoupled, perfectly level subfloor.
If that is not possible, it is better to install impact sound insulation between the OSB board and, for example, floating laminate flooring. Tiling on sagging and therefore flexible wooden joist ceilings is a topic on its own; I have no idea whether multi-layer fabric reinforcement is already sufficient to bridge cracks.
If there are no limitations, you can go for the full setup with OSB boards on the joists, then insulating screed and heated screed, creating a high-quality, decoupled, perfectly level subfloor.
If that is not possible, it is better to install impact sound insulation between the OSB board and, for example, floating laminate flooring. Tiling on sagging and therefore flexible wooden joist ceilings is a topic on its own; I have no idea whether multi-layer fabric reinforcement is already sufficient to bridge cracks.
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