Fixing Rotted Sill Plate and Termite Damage in Floor Joists
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- čas přidán 20. 12. 2019
- In this video, I finally fix some termite damage! I found this wood damage while looking into why my floor above was bouncy. Some of this rot was probably caused by water because of how it looked. Bugs, ant, termite, and water damage can all look different but all have the same terrible effect on your house. For this rotted wood fix, I added new floor joists, jacked up the floor and replaced the rotted sill. It was a mess but is good as new now!
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2023- 4 Year Update! I finally got to go back to the bulkhead basement area to finish replacing some of the damaged wood, bulkhead stairs, and added a new basement bulkhead door. Hope you like these basement bulkhead videos!
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Videos produced by The Fixer are provided for informational purposes only. All material provided within this video is for informational, educational, & entertainment purposes only. Some of these projects, materials, and techniques may not be appropriate for all ages or skill levels. Please use all safety precautions while following any instructions or concepts provided by this video. Viewers must be aware that by doing projects on their homes they are doing it at their own risk and The Fixer cannot be held liable if they cause any damage to their homes. It is the sole responsibility of the viewer to educate themselves on their local codes and regulations before undertaking any sort of project. Always have safety in mind and have fun! - Jak na to + styl
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Thanks for watching! 😀
Thank you for your time and effort in making this video. We just purchased a 1950’s Midwest Bungalow as a rental. It has joist and seal damage. I feel even more confident that it’s a job I can handle. Thank you and keep the videos coming.
At 5:17 in the video your way of placing that board on the jack made my hair stand up. Thank you for all of your great experience and information.
Same here.
It becomes very stiff under pressure and straightens out
I can also relate to how hard this is - particularly on the shoulders. Replaced a few of my own like these in my 123 yr old house. I always have to remind myself that no two measurements are going to be the same with these oldies... Thanks for posting!
Yup, old houses! Thanks for watching!
@@TheFixerHomeRepair I always learn something new when I check out your channel! Great job on the repair.
Thank you "The Fixer" as this was the perfect video to prepare me for my kitchen floor demo working from a basement floor and not crawl space.
Excellent video. Thank you for making and sharing these awesome videos.
"WE'VE GOT ROT!" - Heisenberg
Might be my favorite comment of all time, honestly haha!!
Thank you for the video. Got into just the same situation in my '50 house - rotten wood and ants. Actually I should thank them I checked sill plate - it was hidden by old drywall, concrete and insulation. Will try to partially repair it your way. Thanks once again and good luck on your next projects!
Please keep those videos coming! Sooner or later, homeowners will find your site. It's just a matter of time.
😁 Thanks, Darlene. Hope you enjoyed the video!
This chan often puts pros to shame. I've watched a lot of it and most of the time the pros won't do half of what Fixer does simply because it takes time and time is money. Pros also have very different resources and help vs a DIY or solo situation. It's the little things that matter and make for a successful remodel/rebuild. The guys in 50 years will go "wtf?" but if you look at the video archive, it's solid reasoning for the what and why. The how is different for every situation. Most important, don't get in over your head. Do your research and assume worst case scenario before tackling a project like this. Weight distribution is not rocket science but still pretty complicated to do it correctly.
Wow thank you ! I design residential retrofit, and its nice to see how elements are repaired locally !
This video made me feel like I probably wouldn't attempt this. Not alone, anyway. Loved seeing how it all went and what you had to do to get there.
Thanks Sharon. Yeah this isn't exactly a how to video but I for sure wanted to capture how I tackled this. Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching as always!
You are so calm with your problem, I'm trying to replace a sill and I am having nightmares!
I have to tackle similar job in the spring. 30 year old house with verticals pine siding. The siding started to rot below the deck, and was not caught early enough, and rot set into the sill plate. Fully finished basement, that I haven’t yet opened up from the inside. It affects the house on an outside corner. I’ve done similar work on a short strait span, but not a corner. This video removed some of the trepidation I’ve felt, and look forward to tackling this next spring. I’ve noticed very bouncy floors on the first and second floors close the corner.
Wow! I thought for sure I would have had to remove my siding to repair my sill, you literally saved my behind! Thank you!!
Honestly in some spots it is easier to replace from the outside... if there is a crawl space or something. But if you have access like this and especially if you can support the joists, this is the way to go! I am happy to know this video might help you out. Thanks for checking it out!
The Fixer sadly the area I have to repair IS in a crawlspace, but it's old aluminum siding that will definitely never come off without damage, and I don't want to re-side the house as I will never get a return on investment
@@bsegment sounds like what I'm dealing with now. How did you go about it?
@@JohnSuchman I ended up having to get the foundation rebuilt in that area so I had them replace it
I know how hard this is. I put 70 new joist underneath my house from the crawlspace. The more Jackson the better and safer. Great job!
Love Jackson! I have a king v that just feels so good to play some Megadeth on 😂
Wow thanks for making this video!
Excellent video! Old houses are a challenge: I guess it's "Love 'em or Leave 'em." Thank you.
Great video, thanks
Great content. Thanks bra
what a work ! well done.
Thanks a lot! 😁
Very clever man, from Australia..
Good job carpenter!
At 32:54 when you pulled that chunk out i was like wow! It just dissolved
This is great.
When replacing sill plate boards, what did you do with the bolt(s) that was there from the old sill plate?
Great job. Where did the termites go. How did you get rid of them? Thank you.
I need a guy like him to fix my house.
Good work!
Thank you! And thanks for checking out the video! I know it was a long one.
awkward situation working around the oil tank. nice job with the contraption.
Did you do this all in one day? Another great video. I really like the way you explain things, it makes it easier for me to understand. That must be why I chose to follow you. That and you live in Massachusetts. I spent some great summers in Northampton and Greenfield when I was younger.
Hey Don! I did this after work, 3 weekdays in a row. Probably 4 hours at a time. Probably could have got it done in one weekend day but I did a lot of thinking and of course the video makes it take longer. I really appreciate the feedback. I try to explain things as much as possible. Some people get bored and some people like the explanations. I am happy you enjoy it. I have never been to Northampton or greenfield. I have heard Northampton is nice though. Thanks for being a subscriber and for checking out all of my videos!
You brave soul ! I wouldn’t do that work without someone around just in case ! Shit happens
Hi, I have a question regarding the weight baring on the foundation before ( undamaged) and after the repair. When the mud sill is good , I am guessing it’s thickness distributes the weight across the entire foundation evenly. Your awesome repair is totally needed by my house for similar reasons. Termites , yuck. I am concerned for the foundation with the weight of a single or even two joists resting on their own short sill. What do you think?
Extra, I have a step as you do and the rim joist is not able to carry weight due to munching so my plan was to put some lift on the joists, effectively lifting the solid part of the rim a bit and setting blocking between the joists and lagging them in to good wood to transfer the localized rim weight to the sill without touching the mass of concrete, but first the sill.
Great to see the progress in replacing the joists etc. What a headache 😳🙈.
Yes it was a headache but all set now! Happy to have this video out there in hopes it will help someone. Thanks for checking it out!
@@TheFixerHomeRepair - as a new subscriber, this video is very helpful. Many thanks.
@@DarleneDranda Awesome to hear! Thank you, Darlene! You are the best!
Great video, have to ask about the blocking though, is there any reason you havent installed more to tie the joists together? Would love to learn more, thanks for your time!
The termites probably crawled up inside the hollows of the cinder blocks, completely unseen. I think today they fill the hollows with pea gravel or cement. I've also seen tar paper or such stuffed in the tops of the blocks and then the cement.
I'm glad I found this video, your joists are just like mine. The house has been in my family since 1926, I've been working on it as I can. I finally decided I was going to fix the sagging floors it's got a half basement and crawl space in front. Started measuring last night and found termites had gotten into a couple joists and subfloor, uhh. Oh boy the joys of living in an old house.
Hey! The old house must have great character and great to have had it in your family for almost 100 years! 😀
It does at that, balloon framed, no insulation, tongue and groove floor, ceiling and walls that's been covered with wall paper and paneling over the years. My aunt and uncle were tough, they lived in it for 50 years, me and my wife froze our buts off the first winter. But they don't build them like the old ones anymore.
@@danielherring9324 no they definitely don’t!
I graduated from a top engineering school and I have my first level of civil engineering license and I still don’t understand load distribution HALF as well as this guy does! Glad I’m building roads and not buildings, I’ll leave that to pros like him!
Woah. This is such a cool comment. I definitely don’t claim to be an expert. I really appreciate the kind words. Thanks for watching!
Working for a hwy. dept.? How did you ever graduate? Here in OH.,civil engineers can't get elevation of road,bridge to meet on same plane dip,drop exercise suspension travel. Keeps repair shops in business
Did you have to replace the sill plate over the window to the left? If so, I'd like to know if you created a header over the window frame or if you kept the window as is and just ran the PT 2x4" sill plate right over it. Good work.
Great job 💪👍
Thank you Yvonne!
yikes! Great work. Looking forward to your bathroom renovation.
Thank you!
I have these problems with a 110yr old lake cottage. It's much more challenging with no crawl space or foundation.
Checking out your video because, tomorrow, I gotta rip out a rim joist and sill plate that was termite damaged. Not looking foward to it. Thanks
I’m assuming you’re working on a single story house? My 2 story house is from 1899 and has many sagging joists; including a couple nasty split ones (of course, they’re for load bearing walls). Additionally, the joists squish when I try to jack them up (20 ton jacks) and often split the buffer boards between the jack and the joist. From your video, I gather that I should try to find a more solid point to jack from? Or should I sister with a smaller width board and jack from that one first, then sister the other side with the correct width? I was told to jack up at least 3 joists together, but that hasn’t worked out yet. I’m working in a crawlspace that I’m also working at digging out. Thanks!
1:58 -oh it's so stressful
2:00 - ooh a timelapse!!!!
Haha yeah I tried to keep it balanced. Plus if I didn't do time lapses in this video it would have turned out to be a feature length film. Haha 😂 Thanks for checking it out!!
Wow, terrible damage......you keep up the good work
Thanks Jodi! It was bad but now it is all brand new! Thanks for watching!
That’s some damage, DAMN !!
In a similar situation with easy access to the joists and sill plate. I recently had a new tile floor put in above where the replacement/repair needs to happen. Wondering if I should expect some damage to the floor above. Is there anything I can do to limit it?
Is there any problem with replacing a mudsill in small sections like this? Obviously it's preferable to do the full section of the beam right?
It’s nice when you are replacing a seal plate and can just shop vac the old seal plate due to it being straight up dust lol been there and seen that bad of termite damage this week
I watched the crowning video in addition to this one and still never saw the crown. And this is why I don't work in construction. I was squinting and all 🤣
Haha it is very hard to see. Especially on camera. Thanks for checking out the video and for the comment!
My basement has the same type of CMU wall that juts out 4" for the bottom 4' or so. Do you know if this a large CMU, or double stacked on the bottom? Or more importantly why?
If I'm just replacing the band joist, do I need to support the joists with Jack's/jack posts? I have rot/termite damage to about an 8ft section of the band joists, but the floor joists still seem solid
Nice job, sister in then jack up floor. But you may have discovered the root issue at the end with water leaking through that porch. Hopefully thats not the case and that fix will hold forever.
This whole thing (watched the lead up to this, too) is flipping unreal. Nice work, working on it and solving it. Impressive really...
Curious, prior to purchasing the house, should your inspector not have seen/noticed something like this?
Hey Ivan! I really appreciate the kind words. The inspector did poke around with a screwdriver, in fact he found another spot that was pretty bad that I also fixed. I guess he just missed this. I didn't find this until I lived in the house for about 3 years and wanted to investigate the squeaky floor. Thanks for watching and for the comment!
I moved into a place 2 years ago everything good or fair on inspection it's old house 1914 after a month found what your dealing with there extended for 3m behind some shelves that where basically holding the house had to gut the basment install sump pump reframe and now tackling outside drainage nearly there buyer beware inspection has so many clauses that even if they dont dont find not much you can do
How did you bolt the new sill to the foundation?
I have a question for you: During a 1997 remodel, white pex/quest pipes were installed. Now that I am doing another remodel, should I replace those pipes with 2023 pex? No leaks, but it has been 26 years.
Glad you got the job done. A good tip is to place the new joist up against the floor and then hammer in the bottom that rest on the sill or beam. A lot less friction you have to deal with. Also, please add more light to your work area. Hard to see sometimes.
Correct,put the top in first then draw bottom in. From all of that duff knowledge immediately damage surpassed just the span of 2 floor joists. In the future use an awl to probe till solid wood located. Span to next adjacent floor joist,build temp.brace wall 1/4 in. taller drive bottom in lift,carry weight.
"I changed my mind, again." 😂 21:13.
😂 Always happens!
What would you do if the termite damage is on a stud and bottom plate of a frame?
Hey fixer, about how long did this take ? Is this over a few days of work ? I recently found rotted joists in my new home also.
Hey Davey! I did this after I got home from work 3 days in a row. Probably 4 hours a piece. I also did a lot of thinking and camera movements. Probably could have got it done in a day if I just went right to it and wasn't filming. Thanks for checking it out. I hope it at least gives you ideas on how to tackle your own job.
I'm doing right now. No carpentry job is more difficult to repair. It's always worse than it first looks and takes twice as long as anticipated.
Just me but I would have used treated joists in case any termites get wind of new food being delivered! Other than that it's nice to watch a detail-oriented carpenter. I have a termite repair job to get to next week. The rim joist is gone and it can't be replaced from the outside! Oh, fun!
Thanks for the feedback and good luck with the project! Sounds like a hoot! 😁
Just started my master bedroom renovation and discovered this is why the corner flooring is sagging and the drywall was separating at the corner. Damn things even started eating my hardwood oak floors. After I removed the base boards and a bit of the drywall around the corner it was apparent. Sub-floor, framing and joists are all rotting around that corner. I have no idea how to proceed at this point. I can’t even reach the area in the crawl space because it’s so tight down there.
Any idea how I could fix without having to be under my house? Should I tear up the floors and work from the top down?
thank you for the video, could you explain why you use 3 different types of wood ( pressure treated, decking, KD ) when replacing the sill? is the 3 piece wood the technique to fit in the sill?
Aha! Great question, Alan. So when you put wood against concrete, you should always use PT. You are right about the other pieces, they are to make up the thickness of the old material. Thanks for checking out the video!!
@@TheFixerHomeRepair thank you for the explanation! learned a lot from your videos~!
@@alanlin634 That is great to hear! I love helping people! Thanks for checking out my videos!
Would it hurt to put spray foam in the center box or would it be pointless?
Question about the bolt, what did you end up doing with that? I am in a similar position where I have to replace most of the sill on one side of the house and I'm sure I will run into those.
Hey james, I just cut it with a sawsall and broke it off.
How do you like the Ryobi Impact Driver? I was considering it, but also considering getting a Ridgid set
Honestly, I only buy Ryobi now. I love it. Great prices for great tools. They have come a long way in the past 10 years! Thanks for checking out the video!
Does the floor squeak now? Doors working properly? Nice gloves dude!😁👍
The floor is 100% squeak free! I had to adjust the door a tiny bit but just because it was a little tight. Opened and closed fine but bothered me because I'm picky haha. I love these gloves! Protects my hands but I can still use a pencil. Trying to use a pencil or anything like that really is so annoying with regular gloves. Thanks for checking it out Andy!
Awesome! That’s satisfying. 😉
I have never seen using a wedge block like this before. F'ing brilliant use of a determined cutoff. I gotta harass my producer over this simple but effective technique.
They're probably going to tell me that's not the right way to do anything but I'll fight back that if it works, why you argue?
Thanks for the video; very informative. I am tackling a similar job to this, but the sill plate (rim joist?) I am dealing with is nowhere near as rotten as yours; caused by water damage as opposed to termites. The outside-exposed two inches or so is rotted to hell, but the interior part still has three inches or so of good wood. Rather than remove a whole section, I plan to dig back to good wood, use a sealer and epoxy putty to reform smooth surfaces, then insert a self-made glulam into the previously rotted section, regularly bolting all the way through from inside to out. About eight feet in total, I'd guess.
Sounds like quite the project! Good luck! I hope you got some tips from this video. Thanks for checking it out!
I leave in Nj , do you have a recommendation for a company to do this jub on my house, ty
Lots of hard work but great job on getting that done! Thank you for this share! I like you Instagram page too. Have a great weekend! Get some well deserved R&R if you can🍻👍😎🎶📺📻🎧🎸🍻🏂👏👊
Thanks K! I am trying to be more active on Instagram! Thank you for following me and thanks for watching as always. I took some time off work so I am gonna try to relax a bit... if I can resist the temptation to work on my house haha. 😂
Call me crazy but I like doing work like that it's a really good feeling of accomplishment but I wanted to ask you how old is the home and by the way great work
I may be wrong but I think that wasn't termite damage, it looks more like carpenter ant damage. And what you thought was rot was actually Ant poop! LOL
Question... I am getting ready to do some sill/joist work in my 19-teen brick masonry/stone foundation house. Especially since I will not have outside access, would it not be better for me to jack the joists, yank the rotted sill, and THEN (as necessary) trim each new sister joist to fit? In my case, it would seem better to use that approach, vs trying to notch the sill plate for each "new" joist. Thanks in advance...
Hey Yavo! It is hard to tell without looking at it. Every job is different. I say if you have thought about it and think that will be the easier or better way to do it, I think that is what you should do. I hope the video gave you some tips. Thanks for checking it out!!
Yavo Always consult a professional, preferably someone who can come look at it personally.
How did it go? I have the same problem with my 125 brick house with stone foundation. The house had no gutters for about 15 years. I know all the joist that touch my damaged wall need to be sistered where they come in contact with the brick/stone. Thankfully I don’t have to do a full replacement according to several people who have looked at them but my rim joist/sill on that wall needs to be completely replaced. There hasn’t been any structural changes to the house since 1908 so I should be good with cracking up stairs. But I’m also going to hire a structural engineer just so I don’t get any more nasty surprises.
I can't believe you said "these ones". It's.. This One.. Those... or ... These... Good project.
That ones? 😂
👍
I didn't see studs sitting on sill plates(which makes replacing sill more difficult) where they are? thanks
What is the rating of the bottle jack you used for this? When you sistered the joists, did you use any construction adhesive or just nails?
Hey Carlos! I believe this was a 6 ton bottle jack and I just used nails. The way this went I would have made a mess if I used construction adhesive haha! Thanks for checking it out!
Thanks for replying and for posting this video! I am surprised it's only a 6-ton bottle jack, I thought it was a 20-ton or higher. I need to replace a section of a rotten sill plate in my crawlspace and you really encouraged me to tackle this kind of job, just waiting for spring when it warms up a bit.
@@carloschean1308 The thing that makes me confident doing this is lots of "just in case" supports. If anything happens I know the floor isn't going far. I wish you the best of luck! Come back and let me know how it went!!
Lucky you I've got to do that from a crawl space
32:45....DAYUM!
If you cut a 1/2 bevel on the top edge of the board it will be much easier to get the lumber vertical.
Is crowning another name for warped or is that two different things?
Warped is different. Warped usually happens when lumber is improperly stored. If it is not stacked flat it begins to twist and bend or warp. Every board has a crown and is completely normal. Thanks for the comment and for checking out the video!
@@TheFixerHomeRepair that was a good question and answer. I was wondering the same thing
every board does not have a crown
Question, I recently pulled out of a deal on a house due to this exact problem. Yours actually seemed easier in comparison since you can actually stand lol. The house has rotted sil plate, rim joist and floor joist that was pretty much inaccessible from the crawl space due to the crawlspace being in like 18" or less tall. Just to put into perspective, my inspector was 6'2" and a twig and he barely could crawl in and risked getting stuck. It was right at the crawl space opening, but I didn't get it because the seller refused to fix it and seems like he had already repaired the drywall really poorly, which kind of made me cautious now because he didn't disclose that he probably knew there was an issue there, but clear indications showed otherwise. I told him that it might cost upward of $15,000 due to the inaccessible space and they might have to go into through the subfloor and even then, I don't know what else could be rotted out. Did I make a good decision on that?
I’m in the same situation after my home inspection ,My husband andI decided to back out also.Don’t settle for a home with major problems before you have a chance to you even place your welcome mat, I hope going forward you have a positive outcome!!
YES YES YOU DID! If buying a house there are two problems you don't want 1. Roof repairs . 2. Any kind of structural defect unless you are completely able to fix it and a rather large discount on the sale price . Both of these problems are expensive to repair and usually lead to other repairs being necessary.
I don't know what is more scary, jacking up a house and cutting out structure or finding it is held up by sponges.
🤣
If you can find it .use blue board..its insect and moisture reaistant..👍
I’m having the same issue. Except the rim joist is also eaten. I can’t rip the concrete stoop out and replace. Do you recommend blocking between joists?
Hey! You could try to put blocks in but generally the floor joists run under the wall so the outside wall should be supported just fine if the floor joists are in tact or you put in new ones. Hope this helps. Thanks for watching!
@@TheFixerHomeRepair thanks brother.
how would I go about lifting the back side my house.... the joists are going the same direction as the sill plate I need to fix?
So don't take this as direct instructions because I am not the all knowing one AND every job is different but... If you don't have a ton of damage you can cut out sections at a time and replace them as you go without moving the house. BUT if the house has sank and you want to raise it back up you will need to get creative. Whether that is cutting out small sections and placing jacks directly under that joist or creating some kind of thrubolted beam on the outside to raise the entire thing. It really depends on the situation. I hope this helps. Good luck with the project. Be sure to come back here and let me know how it goes! Thanks for watching!
Another way to possibly find the crown is to place it on edge on a flat surface.
Yes, that works too!
That is actually the right way of doing so as well as determining all of the warps twists and cups in a board.
I have this problem, but only a small crawl space to work from. So now what?
Use your bottle Jack on those joists next time to get your joists tipped up and aligned
Hello colleagues!)
21:43 why did you not remove that peice
Use your jack to press the new joists in instead of hammering wedges.
Good tip! 👍 Thanks for watching, Paul!
How much weight does a 2x4 hold?
Around 250 kg
They should have filled the cinderblock with cement. The termites came straight up there, I would be concerned with the rest of the sill plate around the entire perimeter.
I would love working with you.
Do you use moisturizer and a facial salon, Too good for a guys skin.. Maybe editing unshapen Mask??? By the way did you get JOIST hangers vs dumb ole toenailing.
👍🏽🤗
Your top block is supposed to be back filled. Since it wasn’t it allowed moisture to get to you sill. Blocks and brick breath.
how do u know?.. u been to this guys house?..maybe don't try to be such a know it all and u might learn something..
Apparently you didn’t pay attention during the video or else you would of clearly seen that on the top course the cells were empty. The issue will eventually repeat itself because the cause was not addressed.
Have a great day Karen.