leveling bathroom floor

[brett71]

i am refitting our bathroom and the floor is not level, since taking the old suite out i now have some room to work with, i have found that 3 joists are at different levels, i have only been able to check these where the plumbers cut through when fitting radiator, what i want to do is pull up the old chip board and re lay some plyboard, so my question is to get this level should i run some timer along the lowest joists and screw into this? if this is the right thing to do what size timber should i use?

thanks

Brett

 

[chirpychippy]

Rip your existing floor up, find your highest point on the joisting and go from there, the best way to do it is with timber firings or furrings. So say your joist is 6 foot long and 1/2 inch out of level, you would get a piece of 4 x 2 a chalk line a tape measure and sometressles and a skill saw. Lay the 4 x 2 on tressles width ways up, mark 1/2 at one end measure along 6 foot make a mark them snap your chalk line on these two points cut along chalk line with skill saw (don't cut your hand off) hey presto you have a furring screw this to you joist, your joist is now level.

 

[KenGMac]

brett71, hi

When you lift the flooring, first thing to do is to check for wood rot in the joist ends [the ends of the joists that are embedded in the wall]

Any wood rot, then replace the joist a Bathroom is a small space so replacing joists could be fairly "easy"

If there is no wood rot then, consider using a "firing piece" this is a very long, up to several meters in length, thin triangular piece of timber the same [or nearly] the thickness of the joist and cut to the thickness needed to get the offending joist back to level.

It is possible with a bit of "MUCKING ABOUT" to fix a series of "diminishing packers" along the length of the joist to adjust the top surface of the joists to match each other. The use of ply of various thicknesses, hardboard in several or only one layer.

The "firing piece" option is preferred, the exact dimensions of each "firing piece is dependant on the top levels that you are confronted with when you strip off the present flooring.

If you do not have the tools to create a "firing piece" then a local decent joiners shop should be able to produce what you need

Would also suggest that you spend some effort and apply a spray of a wood preservative to all timber, Bathrooms are notorious for wood rot?

Hope this gives some ideas on how to proceed?

Ken

 

[brett71]

I am pulling the floor up this weekend, so will have more of an idea what i am dealing with.

as far as i can tell each joist on its own is level, the issue i seem to have is that the 3 joists i have had a look at are at different hights from each other and the 25 year old chipboard has given in and bowed.

so if this is the case could i "shim" the lower joists with something to bring them to the same hight as the rest? if this is possible what should i use?

Thanks again

Brett

 

[KenGMac]

brett71, hi again.

I did not realise the bathroom was a ground floor, hope it is?

Yes it is possible to shim the joist ends, use slate, this material will not rot or crush.

There is a possibility that the wall plate has suffered a wood rot attack and it is the wall plate that has failed and allowed the joists to drop?

Points to watch out for or consider?
1/ Wood rot in the joists.
2/. I am dubious about the flooring appearing to fail and begun to bow? keep an eye out for water leaks, especially aerosol spray from a pipe.
3/. check on airflow below the floor.

A couple of Green issues?
1/. As you have the floor up and access to the pipes why not apply some insulation to the pipes?
2/. have a thought about insulating the floor, simple way is to use netting between the joists and fill the net with glass wool or similar, will make for a warmer room.