Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Half-assed or complete-assed? - Home remodel/repair...

So, while in the beginning phase of a bathroom remodel, I discovered the reason why the flooring was so s--t in the first place: A complete charlie foxtrot of a repair, probably 20 or so years old.

Now that all that crap repair is gone, what I'm left with is one 2x8 floor joist that was rotted away, up to about 1" deep, from 3' from the sill inwards.

I know what I should do is double up that joist from the sill in to the beam. But to do so would mean removal and re-installation of some plumbing, something I want to avoid doing if at all possible.

So, just how much of an ass would I be if I just used 6' of 2x8 from the sill inwards, gluing and screwing the new to old?

Right now I want to punch the guy that built my house in the head, as well as the guy that did the completely, utterly bulls--t repair. Really, really hard. Maybe a good butt with a 2x6 upside their respective foreheads. I just don't want to A) want to punch myself in the head 5 years from now, B) want some guy to punch me in the head 20 years from now.

First you need to figure out what caused the rot and fix that. 2nd I'd use a 10' board. Rule of thumb is 3X the damaged area. But with it only being 1" deep 6' would probably work.

do it right, or the next guy will be the one bitchin about the haffassed repair that last guy fugged in.....

I'm sure it was a leaky toilet gasket, many, many years ago. There is no sign of moisture now, and as mentioned, it was previously repaired. In a manner not unlike a certain '69 Mustang, prior to being done right by the wizard of Minnesota.

Anyway, it's sounding like the standup way to go is to take the new joist all the way from the sill to the beam.

Thanks guys...

Read this article. If it doesn't help than just hire the guy.

Half assed guy

This.

You want to do a truly Mickey Mouse repair while MF-ing the last repair guy?

If you leave the rotten wood it will just infect the new wood you place against it.

Find how the water got to it and fix that.

You don't need to sister that joist from sill to beam, though that'd certainly be nice and might make you sleep better and feel happier <grin>.

I'd cut and scrape away all the bad wood from the affected joist then treat that area with wood preservative (the nasty green stuff, Jasco I think) then sister it with a treated 2x8 or 2x10. I wouldn't bother with glue. If you really want to kill it, sandwich a strip of plywood between them. Lots of galv nails or stainless or ceramic-coated construction screws. No sheetrock screws! And only ever EVER buy screws with the star-drive. No Philips, no square drive, only star. We must drive Philips and square drive into extinction.

Side note: I discovered Timber-Lok screws in my recent house build. Those things are some bad mofo's!

No, do not use green-treated wood or treatment inside the house. That'd be about the worst thing to do. It'll take years to gas off.

So long as you've eliminated the water problem, then you can repair the joist just fine by glue/screw methods. A properly glued/screwed beam is far stronger than a simple piece of wood anyway.

I never regretted fixing something "right." When I was young, I often regretted doing something 2-3 times. Move the plumbing if needed and sister the joists. Fix the cause of the rot first and foremost.

I'm not sure why you'd want to 1/2 ass anything. If it's worth doin...do it right.

Plastic waste plumbing is cheap and easy to do. I just did a laundry tub and replaced everything. It was a bit much, but I have no worries for the next 10 years. Do a complete job, easier in the long run.

Like I said, glued and screwed properly is stronger than sistering full-length, so that would be the best way of "doing it right." Now if you need to remove the plumbing in order to even glue and screw into solid material, then by all means move the plumbing.

If you are simply worried about strength in the joist, then use a piece of steel strapping to "sister" the joist around the plumbing on the top half of the board.

If I am reading your description correctly, your main worry is actually that your floor joist is missing an inch of material from its top. That has to be brought up to level somehow or your floor will be wobbly forever.

A friends father used to say, tongue in cheek, "There's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over." Words to live by, me thinks.

Never use just half your ass. Use all of it.

Glad you came to your senses.....

Somebody once said "doing the right thing isn't always easy but it's always right....

Isn't the saying "half asked", not "half assed"? Maybe this is a question for another thread.

No.

But congratulations on a very genteel upbringing!

Scott-

See my sig line.