Suggestions for removing sunk from sunken living room.
#11
My father is in a wheel chair. Their house is a slab on grade, typical of most houses in Arizona. My mother would like to level it with the rest of the house so that the room is accessible to my dad.

The living room is sunken 9". The span is 14 feet. I think the span is too much for 8" joists, so this won't be as simple as just putting up ledgers and hangers and throwing some joists across it.

Another concern I have is the potential for trapping some water should it somehow get under a framed floor.

I'm open for suggestions and comments and other pitfalls.
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#12
I am not sure I am understanding you correctly. If the 9" drop is over a slab the 8" joists with 1 1/8" or less ply will level it up depending what the finished floor will be. As for the 8" I would use PT and not worry about being large enough as they don't span anything if laying on a slab. Blocking between the 2x8 to reduce the chance of twist
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#13
You are going to be shimming mid-span or more often anyway. 2xwhatever-fits is sufficient. Glue shims in place to floor and joist with construction adhesive.

Use rim joists tapconed to the existing sidewalls. I'd only use hangers if they seem to be easy to use in your circumstance. shimming and toenailing would be sufficient. Floor deck to your need. Mine are 1 1/8 over I-joists. Quite overkill.
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#14
Poke a chute through a window and fill it with light concrete.
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#15
Alaric said:


My father is in a wheel chair. Their house is a slab on grade, typical of most houses in Arizona. My mother would like to level it with the rest of the house so that the room is accessible to my dad.

The living room is sunken 9". The span is 14 feet. I think the span is too much for 8" joists, so this won't be as simple as just putting up ledgers and hangers and throwing some joists across it.

Another concern I have is the potential for trapping some water should it somehow get under a framed floor.

I'm open for suggestions and comments and other pitfalls.




i hope theres no doors in the living room.
also not sure about codes for window sill height and electrical height off of floor.
but, as for the floor, i think id have the bond along the walls all nailed/screwed in to the walls, hang the joists there, then have a beam through the center of the room for the joists to hang off of,too. make the beam out of 2 by 10's ripped down to fit.
as far as water, if there hasn't been a problem before, why would there now?
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#16
Bob has the answer. Why would you have to hang anything? Just build right off the concrete floor. I wouldn't even worry about fastening it to the walls. It isn't going anywhere.

5/4 PT blocks each end and a row down the middle= 1-1/16"
2X8 joists = 7-1/4"
3/4 plywood = 11/16" makes the total 9"

If you want to add underlayment, use 3/4 blocks instead of 5/4. You could even use 2X6 joists by adding more (2 row down the middle) thicker blocks under the joists.

Twinn
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#17
What they said about gluing down blocks. Also, unless there's plumbing running through the area I would not worry about trapping water. If there isn't any plumbing and water does get under there in an amount significant enough to be a concern than you've either got a hole in an outside wall, the roof or both.
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#18
The challenge isn't clear to me. Just frame it in 2x8 and add support blocking mid span, or even 1/4 span to reduce deflection.

Couple of questions:

What will be the final ceiling height after raising the floor?

Go into more detail regarding the water concern, I'm not picturing the Challenge

Some of these homes, the lower floor wasn't framed down, the surrounding areas where framed up. If this is the case can you remove the framed up sections (and reset the door)?

Have you considered ADA ramps to transition the elevation changes?
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#19
You're missing a golden opportunity to build Cerebro:

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#20
I would build a raised platform floor and keep it easy to remove when that time comes.
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