Need some advice.
We are renovating the upstairs of our house. A timber house from the 1890s, 2 floors. There is a room that is completely unfinished, meaning just timber walls and the floor is only joists (sort of original from the 1800s but seems to be in good condition).
The room is about 5 * 5 meters and will basically be divided in half into 2 rooms. In one half we will have a bathroom, and the other half will be a small bedroom.
The bathroom will thus be 5 meters long and a little more than 2.5 m wide.
Since the bathroom will be fully tiled and we probably want a corner bathtub, the floor needs to be reinforced.
The joists that are there now are spaced about 450-500 mm apart (different spacing between all) and are at slightly different heights so new ones need to be installed, partly to make it straight but also for stability for tiling etc.
The direction of the joists is in the same direction as what will be the bathroom's longest side (5 meters) if you understand what I mean 😄 We cannot/will not change the room placement for various reasons.
The partition wall between the rooms will be built in the same direction as the existing joists. The dimensions of the joists are about 200* 55 mm. Approximately every other joist is slightly lower than the others, the lower ones are about 180 mm.
We have had a few different carpenters and acquaintances here who have looked and given us different suggestions on how to reinforce the floor.
Option 1: Install new joists with 300 mm spacing throughout the bathroom in the "same" direction as the existing joists and attach them to the exterior wall and the existing interior wall that is there.
Option 2: Open the ceiling on the ground floor and insert a beam there that goes in the opposite direction to the existing joists, the beam should cover the entire length of the room (5 meters) and build it into the exterior/interior wall to stabilize from below.
We will need to level the floor so installing new joists/upgrading the floor needs to be done anyway, the question is whether the floor can be stable enough with just option 1, or if we actually need to install a beam?
Or if we need to go with both option 1+2...
I understand that if you are going to tile, there must be a maximum of 300 mm between the joists in the floor to prevent movement, but I wonder if it works to go without a beam underneath when the room is so long (and wide)? Can it be stable by just inserting new joists?
Would appreciate if you could give some tips here. What would you have done?
We are renovating the upstairs of our house. A timber house from the 1890s, 2 floors. There is a room that is completely unfinished, meaning just timber walls and the floor is only joists (sort of original from the 1800s but seems to be in good condition).
The room is about 5 * 5 meters and will basically be divided in half into 2 rooms. In one half we will have a bathroom, and the other half will be a small bedroom.
The bathroom will thus be 5 meters long and a little more than 2.5 m wide.
Since the bathroom will be fully tiled and we probably want a corner bathtub, the floor needs to be reinforced.
The joists that are there now are spaced about 450-500 mm apart (different spacing between all) and are at slightly different heights so new ones need to be installed, partly to make it straight but also for stability for tiling etc.
The direction of the joists is in the same direction as what will be the bathroom's longest side (5 meters) if you understand what I mean 😄 We cannot/will not change the room placement for various reasons.
The partition wall between the rooms will be built in the same direction as the existing joists. The dimensions of the joists are about 200* 55 mm. Approximately every other joist is slightly lower than the others, the lower ones are about 180 mm.
We have had a few different carpenters and acquaintances here who have looked and given us different suggestions on how to reinforce the floor.
Option 1: Install new joists with 300 mm spacing throughout the bathroom in the "same" direction as the existing joists and attach them to the exterior wall and the existing interior wall that is there.
Option 2: Open the ceiling on the ground floor and insert a beam there that goes in the opposite direction to the existing joists, the beam should cover the entire length of the room (5 meters) and build it into the exterior/interior wall to stabilize from below.
We will need to level the floor so installing new joists/upgrading the floor needs to be done anyway, the question is whether the floor can be stable enough with just option 1, or if we actually need to install a beam?
Or if we need to go with both option 1+2...
I understand that if you are going to tile, there must be a maximum of 300 mm between the joists in the floor to prevent movement, but I wonder if it works to go without a beam underneath when the room is so long (and wide)? Can it be stable by just inserting new joists?
Would appreciate if you could give some tips here. What would you have done?
Self-builder
· Stockholm
· 8 592 posts
Is it sagging so much that you need to reinforce the entire way then?
Otherwise, I would have kotlat... it's enough to get stability for the bathroom itself, but then of course the entire joist structure could sag, and then you would need a beam/more studs...
/K
Otherwise, I would have kotlat... it's enough to get stability for the bathroom itself, but then of course the entire joist structure could sag, and then you would need a beam/more studs...
/K
Not that I'm any kind of expert, but in the house I'm building (stick-built package from a house manufacturer), we have trusses with a lower chord 220x48 with cc900, and we only cross-brace with standing 2x4 in the lengthwise direction of the house, on top of the trusses, which run in the other direction. So if your beams are in good condition, they should definitely be stable enough. But I'm just a happy amateur 
(albeit with engineering education and stress calculations in my background)
(albeit with engineering education and stress calculations in my background)