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Advice on repairing rim joist

5K views 15 replies 4 participants last post by  sharpsport 
#1 ·
What started out as a simple Sunday project of replacing some risers and treads on the stairs of my lower unit of my duplex has quickly escalated. As some background info the house was built in 1893 and has been rather poorly maintained. The last few owners have been investors that could have given two sh*ts. So here we stand. I had to lay concrete for the stringers to sit on, and plan on securing them to the concrete using a 2x12 secured into the concrete and then attaching the stringers to the 2x12 from the side. Where my big problem lies is that the rim joist(s) and I use plural because there were basically 2, one rotted piece of wood secured to the original very rotted piece of wood, need to be replaced. The joists themselves are a bit rotted as well, although not terrible. I am wondering if am able to replace the rim joists and get them secured (even partly th the brick if needed) if that will be sufficient to have the stringers hung. Whew...sorry for the long winded explanation, and I will try to get pictures up tomorrow. Any help is appreciated!
 
#2 ·
Photos will help with the visual.
You mention attaching wood to concrete. You should isolate the contact between the two. Wood against concrete will cause the wood to absorb moisture and speed up the rottting process.
Ron
 
#3 ·
Here are some pictures of what I am working with. I have already taken off the two rim joists that were poorly attached. I am thinking if I attach a new rim joist from a PT 2x6, I can then attach my stringers to that. Any thoughts/hep would be appreciated. I am trying NOT to have to redo the whole deck. As you can see already there is a slight slope on it, but this is a rental and while I am trying to take as best of care as possible, this project was something I did not anticipate and certainly did not budget for.
 

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#4 ·
To add to what Ron said, you do not want wood in direct contact with concrete. The pictures show that to be the case which was deffinately a main culprit to the rot. If you have access under the deck, build a temp wall under the joists to support the weight of the deck, and then cut out and replace the rim joist with flashing as a moisture barrier. If the wood is truly that rotted, then you may not need the temp wall because it's not supporting the deck anyway. Good luck.

Rick
http://myhandyadvice.blogspot.com/
 
#6 ·
Thanks, I think my plan of attack is going to be to attach new rim joists tomorrow, w/flashing as a moisture barrier to the existing joists. From there I am going to attach the joist hangers to support the stringers. we will see how things go. I'll post pictures if I ever get this figured out.
 
#11 ·
It just keeps getting better, now the post is supporting the second story and a roof.

You have some serious structural issues there. If you could not see this from the start then it’s not DIY, call a pro.
 
#14 ·
I would think the weight of the second story and roof has dropped that whole corner.
I would work from the top down, not from the bottom up if that were the case.
Check out the flooring in the room above the porch to confirm my observation. If it's bad, the floor will slope to the corner.
If that's the case, I would jack up the second story to take the weight off the post and porch.
I'd then strip the decking off the porch to get a look at the framing.
Reframe the support structure and re-deck the porch.
Take the post out and check it's condition.
Replace if necessary.
Ron
 
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