Joist notched out... what to do?

BlueBSH

what in the world can I do about this? they cut into the joist to get the bathtub train trap in..... this looks very well unsturdy to me... its a 2x10 cut the majority of the way through... also there is NO firestop between the basement and 1st floor.... how can I take care of that?

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Paulie

Gotta love those plumbers.

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Daniel Holzman

You can bolt on a pair of steel plates, one on either side of the joist. That will support it adequately. As for the firestop, I don't know exactly what you think you should have, my house does not have a "firestop" between the basement and first floor, I am not sure I have ever seen one. I have seen firstopping used between the garage and the house (fire X gypboard), and older houses sometimes have firestopping framing in the walls, but between the basement and first floor? Not sure what it would look like.

Scuba_Dave

I think he means the specific hole that they opened up in the floor
I've never seen a hole that big in houses I have seen
You could box it out & cover it with sheetrock or plywood
Use screws so it can be opened for access

That would also seal out spiders/bugs & colder air
Bath water tends to cool off fast enough, cold basement air will cool it off quicker

pyper

The proper way to fix a joist with a notch that big is to fit a piece of wood into the top section. If the joist fell when the notch was cut, then you might need to jack it up a hair prior to fitting the wood. After the piece is in, you need to put steel plates on the side of it to hold it in place.

But -- is it possible to get a piece of wood in there, or is the pipe in the way?

BlueBSH

I think the pipe goes right in where the board would be unfortunately....

Scuba_Dave

I would use steel as Dan said

Strange...all the joists around my bathtub are doubled

pyper

How thick and how long do the steel plates need to be to add enough stiffness to prevent floor bounce? Joists are primarily sized so the floors won't bounce.

You can add to the rigidity of the joist by putting blocking near the cut between the cut joist and the two adjacent.

BlueBSH

That's exactly what I was wondering... where do you even buy steel plates? or do you mean plates that are like the framing anchor plates in terms of thickness?

Joe Carola

Is this a new house or addition? If so, are you the homeowner and is there a GC, or are you the GC?

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Joe Carola

Daniel Holzman

I suggest 1/4 inch thick steel plate, 18 - 24 inches long, as wide as you can fit, through bolted using 1/2 inch bolts six inches on center. You can get structural steel plate at a steel fabricating shop, they will also predrill it for you so all you have to do is drill the wood, push the bolts through, and add nuts and washers.

Ron6519

Remove the damaged part of the joist. Cut the joist back on either side. Install double 2x10's on each end of the cuts. You're effectively boxing out the trap area while restructuring the floor. All you need are 2x10's, joist hangers, some 2x4's to support the joists until the box is complete and some joist hanger nails.
Ron

BlueBSH

House was built 10yrs ago, I own it now, this is all the original work.... no additions....

pyper

Are there some symptoms of a problem? If it's been that way for a decade and you haven't noticed either bouncing floors or cracking drywall I'd say you might not actually have a problem to fix.

BlueBSH

yes there is a problem. when you step around the area that board is in the floor makes a loud cracking noise... and its only on the line that joist is on other parts of the floor are silent when walked on