This Is A Hammer
By Samantha Mazzotta
Bulging Floor?
Check Joists
Q: I saw your
column a while back about sagging floorboards.
Well, I have the opposite problem. A couple of
spots underneath my living-room carpet feel like
there is a "hump" there. When I pulled
back a section of carpet to check if there was
something underneath, I saw nothing. The
underlayment looked fine. But those areas feel
out of line with the rest of the floor. Do you
have any idea what this could be? -- Joseph T.,
Ogden, Utah
A: If you’ve
ruled out problems with the carpet and
subflooring, the joists underneath may be a
possibility. These are large boards that support
the subfloor, which can be accessed from the
basement or crawlspace. Like all wooden
structures, homes contract and expand, and settle
over time, and this affects the structure in
different ways.
In this case,
it’s possible that a joist has warped and is
arching or bulging upward, creating that odd hump
in the floor (that there are two spots, suggests
two warped joists). This can be corrected by
using the weight of the house to straighten the
board.
Slide a level
along the carpet to find the highest point of the
hump. Mark it, then measure to that point from
some element that extends to the area below (such
as a heating duct or pipe). This measurement will
help you mark the correct spot on the joist below
where the high point of the bulge is centered.
Once you’ve
found your spot, take a reciprocating saw and
make a straight cut at that spot, starting at the
bottom edge of the joist and going to just 3/4ths
of the depth of the joist (do not cut all the way
through the joist).
Leave the joist
that way for a few weeks, checking the floor
occasionally with a level. Don’t place
excessive weight on that spot. Let the joist
settle naturally. Once the spot is flush with the
rest of the floor, go back down to the joist.
Reinforce it by nailing a board of the same width
to the joist (alongside, not underneath). The
reinforcing board should be at least 6 feet long
and secured with 16d nails in pairs, staggered a
foot apart. Drive three nails on either side of
the cut.
HOME TIP: Check
floor joists periodically for sagging, bulging,
cracks or other damage. Extensive damage should
be evaluated by a professional.
There is No
Difference Between an
Ice Damaged or
Topped Tree.
News release
from the Missouri Department of Conservation
The ice storm did
a lot of damage to our trees. Unfortunately,
people are doing more by topping their tree.
Trees require
leaves to convert solar energy into usable sugars
through photosynthesis. The ice storm broke many
limbs. These limbs now lack the buds for leaves
to grow from normally. The tree will respond be
sending out sucker sprouts from the branch to
replace the buds, then the leaves. This is a
normal response. Topping does the exact same
thing, except there is a clean saw cut.
Both are
detrimental to the tree. The tree must tap stored
sugar reserves to create new buds, branches, and
leaves. This drain on the energy reserve will
result in the tree being less able to fight off
attacks by insects and disease and may result in
root decline as the tree is unable to properly
feed them. This slowly creates a situation where
the tree is constantly sick. You may not notice
it, but the tree slowly dies. This may take years
or even decades, but significantly reduces the
trees total life span. Another problem with
topping or unpruned ice damage is decay will
enter these areas easily and the tree will not be
able to close over the wound. Many trees will
become dangerous due to decay related to the
damage. The sucker sprouts will also be a future
problem as they break easier than normal tree
growth and will be the first to break in a storm.
If you are
considering topping your tree in response to the
ice damage or any time for that matter, cut it
down. This will solve a long term problem before
it even starts. This will allow you to select a
replacement tree and get it started that much
sooner.
Proper pruning
information is available from the Missouri
Department of Conservation and the University of
Missouri Extension Service.
Jon Skinner is an
Urban Forester with the Missouri Department of
Conservation in the Joplin Office. Contact Jon at
417-629-3423 or jon.skinner@mdc.mo.gov.
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