# Basement I beam set too high



## mae-ling (Dec 9, 2011)

They could.
Is the beam only up in the center or is it up where it meats a basement wall too?
If the floor has heaved your doors should be not working properly.


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## Jackofall1 (Dec 5, 2010)

Hello and Welcome Jlynn024, to the best darn DIY'r site on the web.

Sounds like whoever built this place forgot about doubling the bottom plate.

I would say that lowering the center beam would not be a DIY'r job, there is just too much at risk.

Mark


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## Jlynn024 (Oct 18, 2012)

Bottom plate? I'm not sure what that is? The basement is barebones unfinished. As far as lowering it, I can't at this point anyway because the Collums have no means to be adjusted. Do you have any recommendation on who would take on such a job of lowering the beam or recommend some other action? Any specific issue this may cause by DIY? Also Mae all the doors shut smoothly I'll have to check where the beam sits in the wall when I get back home. 

Thanks


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## Jackofall1 (Dec 5, 2010)

Toss a level on the walls, are they plumb? If they are then my guess is it was built that way and if you start messing with the center beam everything will be thrown off.

The top or more correctly said the sill plate is the (usually 2 x 8 or 6) that sits on top of the foundation, or the foundation was never level to begin with.


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## Jlynn024 (Oct 18, 2012)

I will check the walls tonite. I'll tell ya a theory iv kind of thought out I could defiantly use your input. The people I bought the house from put a perimeter drain in the basement under the floor all alongside the walls. Now I'm not sure but it seems as if the basement walls are settling but the beam in the center that runs the length of the house is not. Therefore there if a hump you can feel on the main level of the house. Is lowering the beam an option or any other route you might consider?


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## Jackofall1 (Dec 5, 2010)

Jlynn024 said:


> I will check the walls tonite. I'll tell ya a theory iv kind of thought out I could defiantly use your input. The people I bought the house from put a perimeter drain in the basement under the floor all alongside the walls. Now I'm not sure but it seems as if the basement walls are settling but the beam in the center that runs the length of the house is not. Therefore there if a hump you can feel on the main level of the house. Is lowering the beam an option or any other route you might consider?


Following your theory, I would definately have a knowledgable person out to look at what you have going on, if the parimeter walls are sinking then you need to have that resolved before you ever think about the center beam.

Mark


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## GBrackins (Apr 26, 2012)

could you post a photo of the beam and top of foundation wall?


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

I believe that I would contact a local structural engineer before making any modifications. First though, I would set up a transit or laser level in the basement, and shoot the bottoms of the joists, in order to get an accurate picture of what might be going on. Obviously, something is amiss, since you can feel it on the main floor, but your basement floor is not necessarily level throughout, so using it as a gauge is not the most precise approach.


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## Jlynn024 (Oct 18, 2012)




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## Jlynn024 (Oct 18, 2012)

doesnt look like i could lower that beam period. Probably more problems than its worth any way. I dont have a laser but the beam is set at 86" but when i measure at the wall to the joice its 85. If anyone has any other advice or needs any more information from me I'd be more than happy to share. It sounds like i had better get an engineer of some sort before it gets out of hand... I have two other pics also just says they failed to upload


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## GBrackins (Apr 26, 2012)

where the beam goes into the foundation wall it appears there is a 2x nailer on top of the steel beam. is the top of the nailer level with the 2x sill plate on top of the foundation wall?


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## mae-ling (Dec 9, 2011)

Run a string line under the beam with a 2x4 as a spacer on each end, then all the way it should be 1.5" below the beam. If it is higher in spots where a telepost is then it may need to be lowered.


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## Jlynn024 (Oct 18, 2012)

herea another pic of the Joices and the strange designed perimeter drain system. Which also concerns me a lilttle bit


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## Jlynn024 (Oct 18, 2012)

yes, the 2x4 on the ibeam and the 2x4 on top of the foundation are level. The picture without the black pipe does not have a 2x4 on the top of the foundation though


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## GBrackins (Apr 26, 2012)

if the top of the 2x4 on the steel beam is level with the top of the 2x4 on top of the foundation then it should be level. that is if your floor joists set on top of each 2x4 plate, or am I missing something?


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## GBrackins (Apr 26, 2012)

have you put a level of the bottom of the floor joists?


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## sixeightten (Feb 10, 2009)

Measuring from the floor means nothing. Many basement floors are sloped or just not perfectly level. A string as a reference from end to end is the only thing that will tell you if your theory is correct. Even then, you will have trouble if you try to make everything perfect now.


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## Jlynn024 (Oct 18, 2012)

look at that... i was wondering why the darn collumns werent painted. I know the pic isnt the greatest but i think that is it. The poles nedd to be shortened.


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## Jlynn024 (Oct 18, 2012)

I agree with you on not trying to make everything perfect. Chances are if i do make any kind of adjustment it will crack all the square corners in the entire house. I guess im going to have to deal with the hump in the floor for now. I just wonder at what point i should try and make an adjustment. Are the colums used to support the I beam designed to be adjusted? I know they usually have two ways to adjust them but are you supposed to "just set it and foget it" and not make adjustments through out the years?


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## mae-ling (Dec 9, 2011)

Depends where you are located and the type of column.
Do yours have any threads at the top or bottom or are they a solid post?


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## GBrackins (Apr 26, 2012)

there are typically three types:

1. lally columns (thin steel wall columns filled with concrete) that are cut to length
2. standard steel pipe columns that are cut to length
3. adjustable steel columns (screw type adjustor at one end of the column)

I would say with a steel plate welded on top of the column which is welded to the bottom of the steel beam they should be standard steel pipe columns (do not see an adjustment at top, could be at bottom though). welding to lally columns typically doesn't do to well because of spaulding of the concrete inside the lally column.

if you see no screw adjustment on them they are probably fixed.

Again from what I see based upon your saying the two 2x4 plates are level then everything should be level, unless there are notches in one end of the floor joists.

put a level on the bottom of the joists, this will let you know

Good luck!


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## Jlynn024 (Oct 18, 2012)

I ran a rope end to end on the beam with a 2x4 spacer on each end. The result is the beam is actually bowed from the house settling and the support Collums never being adjusted. There is no way to adjust its just a solid pipe. So what I believe I have is the Collums are actually pushing up as the rest of the house has settled. Based upon what iv measured with the rope going end to end on the beam is about a 2 3/4 upward bow minus the 1 1/2 two by four which leaves me with an 1 1/4 of total house settlement. Does that sound like a lot? The house was built in 1965


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## sixeightten (Feb 10, 2009)

That is quite a bit. With that kind of movement, there probably are some serious cracks in the foundation walls as well. Support columns are not meant to be adjusted by homeowners later. They are threaded to allow for adjustment when the beam is installed. We generally put the threaded end down so that a well meaning homeowner does not attempt it later.


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## Jlynn024 (Oct 18, 2012)

Got ya I was unsure if you were supposed to adjust them. So guess I'll live with this humped up floor. I live about a mile off mississippi river by saint Louis in a low water table area. This area is prone to basement issues. An excess of an inch is a lot though. There were some cracked walls but they were repaired and are still holding up decently. I believe the house may still be settling too. Thats why I wonder if I need to adjust this thing or ride it out until something more other than this hump appears.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

Jackofall1 said:


> Hello and Welcome Jlynn024, to the best darn DIY'r site on the web.
> 
> Sounds like whoever built this place forgot about doubling the bottom plate.
> 
> ...



doubling hte bottom plate???? how would that affect it.. bottom plates dont have to be doubled. top plates do to lock walls together at corners. the only time bottom plates get doubled is when the wrong size studs are sent and you need the extra 1 1/2" so the studs sent can be used


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## jomama45 (Nov 13, 2008)

Jlynn024 said:


> I ran a rope end to end on the beam with a 2x4 spacer on each end. The result is the beam is actually bowed from the house settling and the support Collums never being adjusted. There is no way to adjust its just a solid pipe. So what I believe I have is the Collums are actually pushing up as the rest of the house has settled. Based upon what iv measured with the rope going end to end on the beam is about a 2 3/4 upward bow minus the 1 1/2 two by four which leaves me with an 1 1/4 of total house settlement. Does that sound like a lot? The house was built in 1965


A "rope" could easily sag that much, unless you have a nice strong thin line and a ton of pressure on it.................

My advise would to be to find a good mason line and clamp it on one end and have a helper hold it extremely tight on the other end while you measure the deflection to get a true measurement..........


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

or a laser line its way more accurate


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## mae-ling (Dec 9, 2011)

Agree a rope could sag, best to use a mason or string line.
Attach it at each end, really hard to hold it tight.
A trick to tighten a string line is to take it and but the loop on a nail at the start, on the other end take and loop it around you finger them do a circle with your finger 4 or 5 times causing it to twist on itself. Put this loop over a nail then pull the string on itself and tighten it then wrap on the nail a few times.

Maybe the house has settled but more likely the floor/pads have heaved where the posts are.


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## mae-ling (Dec 9, 2011)

woodworkbykirk said:


> or a laser line its way more accurate


Not every home owner has one and we built houses way before they came out.


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## Jackofall1 (Dec 5, 2010)

woodworkbykirk said:


> doubling hte bottom plate???? how would that affect it.. bottom plates dont have to be doubled. top plates do to lock walls together at corners. the only time bottom plates get doubled is when the wrong size studs are sent and you need the extra 1 1/2" so the studs sent can be used


I realize they don't have to be doubled, but if you set a beam wrong or the beam pocket was wrong, by 1 1/2" too high you could fix that by doubleing the bottom plate, thus bringing the floor level from the beam to the outside wall. Heh just a guess as I am not there, but the original post indicated being off 1-1/2" the beam being high in comparison the outside walls.

Mark


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## Daniel Holzman (Mar 10, 2009)

You need to conduct a careful, thorough level survey of your house. Using a rope is completely inadequate. Even a stringline is not too useful for a settlement survey. There are three tools that work very well for an accurate elevation survey of a house.

The most common is a builders level, which can be purchased for somewhere around $500, or rented from most any rental store. You may need some instructions on how to correctly use the level, but they work very well.

An alternative is a laser level, which can be fixed or rotating. I picked up a pretty good one for under $100 at a big box store, they work nicely, and they are easy to use.

A third option is a fluid level, which can be purchased for typically under $500, or rented at some big box stores.

The objective is to make accurate measurements throughout the basement, around the foundation both inside and out, and on the first floor. Measuring up from the basement tells you nothing, as has been pointed out the basement may be out of level.

Once you have performed a careful survey of the whole house, you will be able to determine if the house is settling, and if so whether it is settling unevenly. You can also determine if the beam is level, and if not, how far out of level. A steel beam deflecting as much as you suggest would be catastrophic, and it seems unlikely. My guess is the rope technique was not precise.


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