Sometimes our head knows how and what to do, but our bodies have difficulty with the plan. That's where we are now. Glad you still can follow through. Listen to your body.
Todd, paint those black posts a fluorescent color or y'all will be running into to them if you go to basement in low light. (just like we did till we painted them!) It's one of those fill a boring day with something. Great job getting them up by yourself.
Ooh, watch out for your back! Hubby did this in our 120yr old house too. Not perfect but better. Can't wait for Rachel to get back and have the two of you together again. Always enjoy your videos :)
My husband and I live in an old church converted to a farmhouse built in 1905 and we need to do the same thing. It's intimidating! You made it look less scary lol thanks for sharing!!
The things like this, that no one sees is such a huge improvement to a old home and structure. I have watched some pretty awesome do it yourself heavy duty structure builds and certainly intimidating till you see what is come up with to make it all work out . Nice job
Great video Todd. A number of years ago James and I were doing some work on a neighbours house but it was a steel I beam and we did the same thing. It was 20 ft long and the ratchet straps worked great…however there was two of us. Great job 🇨🇦❄️
My house is a 100 year old weatherboard cottage and the floors are pretty good level wise; the problem is the 20 year old back verandah which is all over the place so guess who is redoing the floor out the back!! Keep up the good work there Todd :)
Good job! Just a bit of advice, if there is a next time use a couple of 2 by 4 screwed together as a brace. Measure the distance from the floor to under the beam and put your 2 by 4 in place. This way it will support the weight while your screwing the beam in place. I'm no carpenter just some advice to save your back. I love to do repairs and learned that trick from a friend, Take Care ...... love the videos !!
I had to lift 16 foot beams under my house, alone. I did it the same way. I screwed in those big hitching rings connected to lag bolts. Lifted the beam, tightened the stap. Good job.
I love the way that you take everything in your stride, but I did keep thinking 'You're there on your own, please ask someone to help you'. But you had it all in hand. I hope your family member is soon well enough for Rachael to be able to come home again. Until then, please take care xx
We have had to jack up the floors in both of our kitchens and I feel you. I swear that we spent just as much time talking about it as doing the work but we have all the jacks if we have to do it again 😂 We jacked up the house first before we braced next to it. Interesting to see you start with the wood beam first.
Wow! Good job! I have those in my basement. The floor a has sagged over time. I need to adjust them. You've given me some confidence that I can do it. Thanks.
Slow and easy will always win the race! 🏁 You're doing a great job, and I don't see why it won't turn out great! But I'm sorry to tell you Todd.... Rachel is so much nicer to look at than you are! 😆 We all have missed seeing her!
We had to do this to one of our rentals. We changed 19 beams and the main garter. It was quite a job but we did it but also we were a lot younger. Be careful.
You could fasten some a come along to the beam some how and ease one end up to a point and hold it there then the other just enough to keep it from breaking your back
Todd you just did a me. Make sure you have your phone on you in case you need to call for help. I used to put mine on clip across waist. Stay warm, hydrated and safe.
Hi, I'll be glad when you're wife is home. You're like my husband thinks you can do it all by yourself! Not smart at all to do it by yourself. But you do a great job thought like him. He put up 8 beams himself in our living room.
I wish I had some to help me with my al.ost 200yr old farm house. My kitchen floor I'd dropping to making bathroom sag. We also found out my husband has cancer, I am trying to do my best..you sir do amazing work,thanks for some tips
We had a store Xmas sign with different screws requiring different drill bits until someone changed one to match. Oh my! You really should have had someone helping you. We are getting too old to hurt ourselves!
Always jack those floor joists slowly. It is a process that should last weeks, not fixed in a day. When you jack too quickly you are going to cause cracks in the plaster. About a 1/4” at a time is all one should jack up in height.
Not sure what your span is between the posts but you’re probably going to want a third post in the middle to prevent sagging again. Alternatively you can move the jacks in from the end, leaving a 2-3 foot cantilever end to get better support in the middle. Maximum span for 2x10 doubled southern yellow pine is normally not more than 11 feet when building a deck, and I suspect you’re trying to support a heavier load and that beam will deform over time.
Feel like the finish on the floor will show splits as the sag is brought to level. The planks have been pinched together on top and gap on bottom has increased. Worst result sanding and refinishing might be necessary
If Rachel is like me....she will have to relevel her stove and be glad her liquid isn't all running to one side anymore 😂 we have to level the floors in our new house now, oil lamps are gonna come crashing down any minute walking across the floor! Lol
Oh my gosh! Weren't you suffering with a bad back not that long ago? I sure hope you didn't hurt it again. We used teleposts to lift our sagging floor and ended up with 4 cracks in 4 different walls. It was sagged a lot and we just couldn't fix it with out the cracks happening. It still has a bit of a dip! You did a great job!
I think the ratchet strap was an awesome idea. I think I would have done both ends and then screwed it in. A little more hands-free for drilling/screwing. But I'm no professional. Just a diy-er like you.
I really thought you were going to nut your head on the way down into the cellar with that plank. 🤣 So glad you weren't hurt doing it on your own. Good job. On the jar shelves bowing. Remember to put a support spacer inbeteen the cement floor and the bottom shelf. Cus that's where it'll crack now.
@@1870s Oh good cuz I bought a 20 ton at harbor freight today. I know they're cheap and low quality, but it will get the job done. Just wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing. Thanks for your help.
how does lifting slowly help? does it just give the upstairs flooring time to settle into the new position with out popping out of the tongue and groove? I am really curious how the slow causes less damage than fast.
@@1870s that simple huh. out 1890's farmhouse may need a little reinforcement before long so I thought I would ask. I guess it is like bending a 2x4 pressure over time will bend it 6" but if you try to fold it that same 6" it would crack. Thank you for your response
You mentioned your children would be upset with you trying to fix the flooring. I think the person you should be more worried about getting upset, is your wife, Rachel!😂❤
Can you tell me where you got the metal posts that you jacked up? We are renovating an older house with a high floor that we have to level up soon lol.
Definitely should have been doing that with someone else. What if something did go wrong and nobody knew you where down there. I’m sure your kids would be more than happy to help you. You do so much for them and I’m sure they want to to be safe.
I don't know todd, how can one hold big beam and screw it in all at once, not possible, I'll keep watching get to see how it comes out. God luck. Nancy from nebraska
Another tip would be to write in pencil under each floor joist how much of a gap you had when you started. That'll identify which joists you had to push upwards the most and which ones are sagging. Get on there with a 4' level to see if your beam is still straight. Don't let your ego get in your way and not put another post in the middle IF needed. Show the floor who's the boss.
Old plaster and lath does not love a floor jack. I'll never forget the creepy sound of plaster rattling down inside our kitchen walls when we leveled the floor. 😱
Once the floor is jacked up, can you cut the end by the stairs at an angle right to the Jack? Kinda like a rafter end under an eave? Or would that compromise the stability of it? Looks like you’ll have a few inches to at least round off the corner as you come down the steps.
If needed (this experience talking!) use foam pipe insulation on the corners/edges in case you find that you are banging your heads...if that's not working switch up to a pool noodle 😉
Hope that also doesn't sag (over time just like your pantry did). I have an 8' steel I beam under 4, 5 1/2" X 1 1/2" beams nailed together. Makes me believe a steel I-Beam is the way to go. Maybe you just bought time. Worse case, you just put more posts in the middle. I was going to remove my carpet and put in bare flooring. We'll see how flat my floors are. Or cut your losses. Put in shag carpeting.
The entire time I was nervously watching and thinking that you should have had some extra hands to help you. Kudos to you Todd! Great job.
Love your storm door exit! Glad you didn’t hurt your back. Cut up a pool noodle to put on the corner of the beam… no smashed heads!😂
Sometimes our head knows how and what to do, but our bodies have difficulty with the plan. That's where we are now. Glad you still can follow through. Listen to your body.
Todd, paint those black posts a fluorescent color or y'all will be running into to them if you go to basement in low light. (just like we did till we painted them!) It's one of those fill a boring day with something. Great job getting them up by yourself.
Ooh, watch out for your back! Hubby did this in our 120yr old house too. Not perfect but better. Can't wait for Rachel to get back and have the two of you together again. Always enjoy your videos :)
I felt a lot happier when you got the jacks under that beam.
My husband and I live in an old church converted to a farmhouse built in 1905 and we need to do the same thing. It's intimidating! You made it look less scary lol thanks for sharing!!
Wow! I love that it was an old church first ❤❤
We've got to do the same thing in our crawl space. Good to see your process.
The things like this, that no one sees is such a huge improvement to a old home and structure. I have watched some pretty awesome do it yourself heavy duty structure builds and certainly intimidating till you see what is come up with to make it all work out . Nice job
Really enjoyed this one. Glad to see you didn't do yourself any damage!
Floor jacks, an essential part of old farmhouses! Our farmhouse is from the 1880s. We liked to roll marbles around the floor ☺️
Good move taking your time. The rest of the house needs time to lift. Great video
😊 Sir, I truly thank you for posting this, for I'm in the same situation.
Great video Todd. A number of years ago James and I were doing some work on a neighbours house but it was a steel I beam and we did the same thing. It was 20 ft long and the ratchet straps worked great…however there was two of us. Great job 🇨🇦❄️
You have a beautiful historical home ❤
Good grief Todd! I’m over here, palms sweating, breathing heavy, nervous for you! But oh man! You did it!! Very impressive!
That was nerve wracking! I'm sure glad you didn't get hurt!
My house is a 100 year old weatherboard cottage and the floors are pretty good level wise; the problem is the 20 year old back verandah which is all over the place so guess who is redoing the floor out the back!!
Keep up the good work there Todd :)
I have one of those old saggy houses too…glad your making progress!
Nice job. That’s such an important task. I would never tackle that one! Hats off to you. Rachel will be so happy when she gets home. ♥️🙏🏼♥️
Great job Todd!! Smart thinking of the pullies and straps!
Good job! Just a bit of advice, if there is a next time use a couple of 2 by 4 screwed together as a brace. Measure the distance from the floor to under the beam and put your 2 by 4 in place. This way it will support the weight while your screwing the beam in place. I'm no carpenter just some advice to save your back. I love to do repairs and learned that trick from a friend, Take Care ...... love the videos !!
Used similar crutch when drywalled basement ceiling by myself
Great job! Slow and steady. I love that you and Rachel have and are, preserving your beautiful farmhouse.
Oh my hair was stranded straight on end watching you!!!
Love ur patience with this!
i rember doing this with my dad. on a older home we turn in to a office for his trucking compy. oh i miss my dad and mom.
Funny, Today I went into the crawlspace to investigate how to fix my sagging floor!! Thanks for showing your solution.
I had to lift 16 foot beams under my house, alone. I did it the same way. I screwed in those big hitching rings connected to lag bolts. Lifted the beam, tightened the stap. Good job.
I kept thinking noooo don't do it Todd, your backkkkk!. Great job while doing it solo.
I love the way that you take everything in your stride, but I did keep thinking 'You're there on your own, please ask someone to help you'. But you had it all in hand.
I hope your family member is soon well enough for Rachael to be able to come home again. Until then, please take care xx
You are the right man for the job!! Great work!
Good job Todd!
Awesome job... one day at a time! Blessings on your day Kiddo!🥰🌻🐛💕
We have had to jack up the floors in both of our kitchens and I feel you. I swear that we spent just as much time talking about it as doing the work but we have all the jacks if we have to do it again 😂 We jacked up the house first before we braced next to it. Interesting to see you start with the wood beam first.
Looks like you are doing a good job
A job well done Todd. 🤗💞
Wow! Good job! I have those in my basement. The floor a has sagged over time. I need to adjust them. You've given me some confidence that I can do it. Thanks.
Slow and easy will always win the race! 🏁
You're doing a great job, and I don't see why it won't turn out great! But I'm sorry to tell you Todd.... Rachel is so much nicer to look at than you are! 😆 We all have missed seeing her!
We had to do this to one of our rentals. We changed 19 beams and the main garter. It was quite a job but we did it but also we were a lot younger. Be careful.
You could fasten some a come along to the beam some how and ease one end up to a point and hold it there then the other just enough to keep it from breaking your back
You should put a little light strip along the beam to remind you not to bump into it. Amazing work!
Todd you just did a me.
Make sure you have your phone on you in case you need to call for help. I used to put mine on clip across waist.
Stay warm, hydrated and safe.
you did a awesome Job doing doing that buy your self
Thank you. Good idea girding with a lam beam
You bet
Great job
I stand corrected!
Hi, I'll be glad when you're wife is home. You're like my husband thinks you can do it all by yourself! Not smart at all to do it by yourself. But you do a great job thought like him. He put up 8 beams himself in our living room.
Before you got the ratchet strap, I was thinking of the same concept using either a pulley or come along.
I wish I had some to help me with my al.ost 200yr old farm house. My kitchen floor I'd dropping to making bathroom sag. We also found out my husband has cancer, I am trying to do my best..you sir do amazing work,thanks for some tips
Good video!
Hi Todd!
Don’t hurt your back. You need help.
Like others say I was like oh my 😮 be careful.
Great job.
We had a store Xmas sign with different screws requiring different drill bits until someone changed one to match. Oh my! You really should have had someone helping you. We are getting too old to hurt ourselves!
Holding my breath through the entire video….all those jars….. whew!
Always jack those floor joists slowly. It is a process that should last weeks, not fixed in a day. When you jack too quickly you are going to cause cracks in the plaster. About a 1/4” at a time is all one should jack up in height.
That's exactly what happened in our house. Went too fast and four walls now have cracks in them!
Thanks for sharing. Next time have someone in the house with you, accidents can happen.
Be careful Todd. You need help with your bad back. 🙏💜🙏💙
Put a step ladder under the beam to hold it up!
good work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not sure what your span is between the posts but you’re probably going to want a third post in the middle to prevent sagging again. Alternatively you can move the jacks in from the end, leaving a 2-3 foot cantilever end to get better support in the middle. Maximum span for 2x10 doubled southern yellow pine is normally not more than 11 feet when building a deck, and I suspect you’re trying to support a heavier load and that beam will deform over time.
Feel like the finish on the floor will show splits as the sag is brought to level. The planks have been pinched together on top and gap on bottom has increased. Worst result sanding and refinishing might be necessary
If Rachel is like me....she will have to relevel her stove and be glad her liquid isn't all running to one side anymore 😂 we have to level the floors in our new house now, oil lamps are gonna come crashing down any minute walking across the floor! Lol
Oh my gosh! Weren't you suffering with a bad back not that long ago? I sure hope you didn't hurt it again. We used teleposts to lift our sagging floor and ended up with 4 cracks in 4 different walls. It was sagged a lot and we just couldn't fix it with out the cracks happening. It still has a bit of a dip! You did a great job!
Yes, I do have the best back. Been going to the gym 6 days a week since late December, it has done wonders for me.
@@1870s I'm so glad your back is better. My husband went through the same thing and working out helped him too!
Paint that one by the stairwell that fluorescent yellow or orange or something
Puppy 🥰
I think the ratchet strap was an awesome idea. I think I would have done both ends and then screwed it in. A little more hands-free for drilling/screwing. But I'm no professional. Just a diy-er like you.
I'm sure glad you didn't get hurt
I really thought you were going to nut your head on the way down into the cellar with that plank. 🤣 So glad you weren't hurt doing it on your own. Good job. On the jar shelves bowing. Remember to put a support spacer inbeteen the cement floor and the bottom shelf. Cus that's where it'll crack now.
Did you use a 20 ton jack?
This one amzn.to/3SKgL2s
@@1870s Oh good cuz I bought a 20 ton at harbor freight today. I know they're cheap and low quality, but it will get the job done. Just wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing. Thanks for your help.
Todd, don’t hurt your back! That was interesting to watch, though.
how does lifting slowly help? does it just give the upstairs flooring time to settle into the new position with out popping out of the tongue and groove? I am really curious how the slow causes less damage than fast.
A house can move a little bit, slowly over time. But if you move things quickly drywall / plaster can crack a lot more than if you do it slowly.
@@1870s that simple huh. out 1890's farmhouse may need a little reinforcement before long so I thought I would ask. I guess it is like bending a 2x4 pressure over time will bend it 6" but if you try to fold it that same 6" it would crack.
Thank you for your response
These floors have been a *journey*!
Calling one of the kids would be working smarter...lol. As I was writing this you made the comment about our comments! lol
Would wood glue be beneficial in the longevity of thevbeam? And do you have a video on replacing weight bearing joists
You mentioned your children would be upset with you trying to fix the flooring. I think the person you should be more worried about getting upset, is your wife, Rachel!😂❤
Can you tell me where you got the metal posts that you jacked up? We are renovating an older house with a high floor that we have to level up soon lol.
Oh man Todd, serious Poltergeist moment!
Floor crane? Tie downs? That's what I'd ask to borrow from my Dad (and then he'd come over with different equipment and do it)
Id paint it fluorescent yellow so it can always warn people
Paint that piece that hangs out a bright color and maybe put I pool noodle around it
After getting it level with the metal beams, aren't you supposed to put up a big wooden beam on cement pad or build a brick beam?
Definitely should have been doing that with someone else. What if something did go wrong and nobody knew you where down there. I’m sure your kids would be more than happy to help you. You do so much for them and I’m sure they want to to be safe.
Oh my goodness Todd. Be careful!
I don't know todd, how can one hold big beam and screw it in all at once, not possible, I'll keep watching get to see how it comes out. God luck. Nancy from nebraska
Another tip would be to write in pencil under each floor joist how much of a gap you had when you started. That'll identify which joists you had to push upwards the most and which ones are sagging. Get on there with a 4' level to see if your beam is still straight. Don't let your ego get in your way and not put another post in the middle IF needed. Show the floor who's the boss.
Todd, cover the corner with a pool noodle to save your noggin!
Old plaster and lath does not love a floor jack. I'll never forget the creepy sound of plaster rattling down inside our kitchen walls when we leveled the floor. 😱
Oh hey, dang it man, wear ur ear plugs for that noisy stuff👍👍🤗
Are you going to leave the jack there all the time?
No, the red jacks will go away eventually and just the grey posts on the ends will hold it all in place. The jacks are just to do the lifting.
Once the floor is jacked up, can you cut the end by the stairs at an angle right to the Jack? Kinda like a rafter end under an eave? Or would that compromise the stability of it? Looks like you’ll have a few inches to at least round off the corner as you come down the steps.
What rating jack are you using there? 32T?
If needed (this experience talking!) use foam pipe insulation on the corners/edges in case you find that you are banging your heads...if that's not working switch up to a pool noodle 😉
My arms are hurting from holding up that beam for you
Hope that also doesn't sag (over time just like your pantry did). I have an 8' steel I beam under 4, 5 1/2" X 1 1/2" beams nailed together. Makes me believe a steel I-Beam is the way to go. Maybe you just bought time. Worse case, you just put more posts in the middle.
I was going to remove my carpet and put in bare flooring. We'll see how flat my floors are. Or cut your losses. Put in shag carpeting.
Put a piece of Pool noodle on that corner by stairs
I've seen the movie poltergeist I thing maybe you need ghost busters lol
I’m sure after Rachel saw this she wasn’t too impressed with you 😂
Get a pool noodle and wrap the edge of the beam…. No hurt head now!!!
And how many sons do you have??!! Funny how sons are quick to ask for dad’s help, but dads don’t like to ask for their son’s help. Glad it went well.