Sill replacement adjacent to dirt filled porch

terry489562

I have 12' of termite damaged (6"x6") sill that sits on top of the cinder block foundation of the front dirt filled porch. The rim joist has some minor damage, too. The floor joists are good. This is an 18 year old 2 story house that sits on a crawl space. I can only work from the inside unless I break up the porch which I do not wish to do. I need to replace 6-12' of the damaged sill and because I cannot gain access from the outside, I will use pt blocks to cover and add support to the rim joist. I will replace the sill in sections because I don't want to yank out a 12' piece all by itself. Questions? 1.) What is the smallest piece of sill that I can remove at one time and keep the job looking professional? 3 feet? 4 feet? 6 feet? 2.) How many steel floor jacks will I need to use per section and what strength should they be? 3.) How far from the sill do the jacks need to be placed? (I won't be able to provide any jacking or support from the outside, inside only.) Right now there's no sagging but the repairs need to be done now or eventually before the house is ever sold.

Bob Mariani

Place a 4X4 across the floor joists to allow the jacks to be far enough apart for working space. Maybe 6' apart would work.

joecaption

Not a great plan. It needs to come out and be replaced from the outside to do it right.
I'd bet no open water proof that wall before poring the slab so you also going to need to add a layer of something like Storm And Ice shield before covering it up.
And I can 100% be sure you the floor joist are also eaten up on the ends and there going to need to be sistered as well as some of the ends of the studs.
Make sure you also get a termite treatment before back filling.

terry489562

Thank you all for the current input. Much appreciated. The termite treatment was done 10 months ago. Termidore and Boracare. No more termites. Damage is mainly to the sill. Some to the rim joist which is still strong but looks bad. Floor joists are good. Some scarring at the ends but pretty rock solid. Two might need sistering mainly for looks. Otherwise, very solid. The wall framework is solid with no sign of damage, mud, etc. I had the siding, sheathing and insulation off above the porch to check and used Boracare there as a precaution. All solid and clean. No floor sags, no framework squashed or crushed. Nothing like that. Same with the sill and floor joists. No crushing, cracks or squashed wood.

Seems impractical to bust out a concrete and brick dirt filled porch just to nail on a new rim from the outside. (?) I thought blocking over the old rim was acceptable in cases like this, given the limited damage. ?

If this was the last house I planned to live in I would simply sister the sill with a 2x6 for some added strength and let it go. However, if I want to ever list the property I need to change that sill and consider blocking over the rim. But busting out the porch just to put on a new rim from the outside when the overall damage is not very extensive? There's got to be a better way. Can someone look at my initial 3 questions and comment on them?