[Davisro]

We had a re-modeler come in to redo a closet on the 2nd floor bedroom over the garage. After the Demo and carpet removal I noticed the floor was sagging in the middle of the closet area by anywhere from 1/2 to a full inch. We went into the garage and noticed the ceiling was also curved downward and appeared to be replastered. My wife called an architectural engineer and they want many $$$thousands just to look at it and write a report. So, below are photos. Just trying to understand is this a big deal or not.

Photos
1. In front of me front wall

2 floor behind me
3 and 4 -in front of me more detail
5 and 6 - garage ceiling left side is under this closet and is curved down and replastered


What does it mean? Will it get worse? I only noticed it because the carpet in the closet had thick padding so when they removed it I could see the sagging


TIA!

 

[3onthetree]

Looks like had a water leak, softened the plywood and sagged when wet. Can remove a larger portion of plywood subfloor if desired.

Roof/wall/window leak or could have been upwards as well in a supply line, I see a soffit in the garage.

 

[HotRodx10]

A sag in the subfloor of that much definitely warrants further investigation. Unless you're going to pull up the subfloor above anyway, I'd suggest taking down the drywall in the sagging area of the garage ceiling, so you can see the framing (joists). If you're still unsure if there's a problem, call a structural engineer for an evaluation.

 

[Nealtw]

See how much rot is under the window?

 

[Davisro]

Thanks for the link Nealtw. My concern here is I discovered this by accident, and is this something we need to fix or will it remain stable. And who does these kinds of evaluations. My wife called an architectural engineer and they sent her a proposal for $7k to look and write a report. Which she politely declined. I'm looking to figure out know if this is a serious problem and if so, how serious.

 

[3onthetree]

Neal's link is his signature line, it shows on his every comment - it's not meant for your situation.

The amount of rot is dependent on how long the leak occurred before it was fixed. If your plywood was just sagging between joists, and it seems structurally sound to walk on as you did before, maybe the structure was fine at that time and they decided to leave the plywood. If you have the itch, you can remove drywall on the exterior wall and see if any wood was repaired or still needs to be repaired. My guess, if not the window, is the electric heater or whatever that is in the wall that was the source of the leak.

 

[Davisro]

Interesting. Yes that makes sense. I was concerned that maybe we needed to put some crossbeam in the garage ceiling to lift the floor which is a significant job. Thank you for your reply!

 

[3onthetree]

Interesting. Yes that makes sense. I was concerned that maybe we needed to put some crossbeam in the garage ceiling to lift the floor which is a significant job.

You may still get your wish to replace the joist if it's rotted :wink2:. You're doing some work with walls removed, it won't hurt to investigate a little more for peace of mind. Your call!

 

[HotRodx10]

As 3onthetree alluded to: Subfloor sagged? - not a big deal. Joists sagging? - could be a big deal. I wouldn't start propping up the garage ceiling until you what has sagged.

 

[Davisro]

Thank you all. I really appreciate your feedback. We'll ask the remodeler to bring in someone who can take a look at it.