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I was thinking that if you went inside and got a couple of 2x8s on their side nailed together. You then made a couple of 4x4 posts under those 2x8s. You them jacked under the joists inside..maybe 1/2 inch or so to increase the space for the PT rim board you want to install. It should slip in with a little persuading. You could then nail the new rim board to the ends of the floor joists...and lower the temporary support you built. Should be nice and tight and flush. I wouldnt hesitate to spray some wood preservative everywhere you can when you have the cavity open.
Talking through the resolution process is so much more helpful than resolving a problem off camera and slipping a perfectly fit piece into place. It's those issues, AND THEIR PROPER RESOLUTION, that are a significant barrier for most of us weekend warriors. Thanks for not glossing over things gone wrong.
Jeff, you are the man! No pretending that everything goes smoothly. Show the reality that is working with wood and not Lego. Your real life demonstrations give us DIY'rs confidence to do it and not be discouraged by inevitable issues. Thanks for all you do.
The way you troubleshot the bow in the floor joists was impressive. I’ve been a fan for about 4 years now and you’ve helped me renovate my bathroom, kitchen and build a media wall in my living room. I have shared your page with family and coworkers and although I’ve subscribed, I have not been a member. That is until today. Please keep making this content. You are real, make mistakes and face unplanned challenges and I love how you work through them. It’s also beautiful how you get to work with your son. Matt has grown up a lot over the years. Thank you again and I appreciate all you do and share with us. Great great video.
I like how he had a problem. Most videos I see online make it look so easy without any issues and I get overconfident and as soon as I go to do exactly that I run into issues like this and wonder what I did wrong.
The way you explain things makes it so easy to comprehend what you're doing and why, and how to go about tacking problems you dont expect along the way. Great video.
Good video. Ran into similar problems replacing termite damage. Was able to fasten a ledger to the studs and use a couple of short pipe jacks to Jack against them to get the sag out for the treated lumber width. It should be noted that the treated lumber is usually still wet when installed and will shrink as it dries. Also, a good practice to paint any cut ends with preservative .
Exactly what I was planning to write. With those bowed / warped floorjoist ends, you need some blocking under the wall plate down to the foundation. And there is a lot that some jacks can lift :). In hindsight such blocks should maybe have been put there from the beginning. At least under the king and jack posts.
Better than the job itself is how well you two get along. There's no superiority complexes. No bad attitudes. No control issues. Supportive comments when things didn't go as planned. Good teamwork. 👍 You two are an inspiration to the construction field.
Did this a few years ago to rim joist with massive termite damage. You guys made it look easy. For me, the sledge hammer and I became good friends when the new rim joist needed to be beaten into place.
I work for a large new home building company in Ontario, and when building a new home, we carry the load down to the foundation. Where you had the 4-2x6s above the floor, we cut 4-2x6s and put them in the exact same location in the basement. Hope you understand what I mean. If we don't do that, we don't pass inspection. Best construction Channel on RUclips!
That is actually the code. Post has to be fully carried down to foundation. The rim joist and 1 piece of 2x4 will not pass. Better way is to lay additional lumber to make the sill match the 2x6 depth then add additional 2x6 pieces to block the entire post. I see spray foam between an original stud the new 3 member post (king and 2 jacks) so 3 pieces of 2x6 for blocking. I know the inspectors here in Ottawa. They will want to see at least photos of the structure under the post otherwise I know some will make you rip out the spray foam in that joist space to see it.
Thank you for breaking things down and explaining the house anatomy. I am not even in need of doing this particular project..yet..but learned a lot about home construction. Father son working together is heart-warming. I love doing projects with my boys too. Blessings Jeff. Paul
I'm surprised that you guys didn't put in addition blocking in between the joists before putting the new rim joist. Especially where the point load of the studs where.
A section of my home has this exact problem (along with the subsequent "mitigating factors") my biggest issue is that right now everything is still incredibly wet and we are just heading into winter so my first order of business seems to be "control the marsh" then dry out the saturated materials... then decide what to replace and in what order. I learned a lot from this video!
Just wanted to say this channel is my favorite No Nonsense channel. And I agree with other commenters about the true to life situations that are definitely not sugar coated. I worked in construction for a time and loved every second of it. My question is why not jack up the floor joists to accommodate then let down? My plan “b” would have been to plane the thicknesses in order to accommodate the rim joist not being received flush. Love your channel! I’m about to do this too but it’s to one that is parallel so shouldn’t be a major issue but you never know!
Here's a stupid question - (maybe uneducated is better)... Can I find this video by searching for: how to replace dry rotten rim joist? Will it come up? I just did the search and looked through the results and it didn't pop up. My concern is that I love your videos - I live in Toronto area and live your real advice, and would love to know that I can search up your videos. My only concern is that when I go looking for this video in the future should I need it, I won't be able to find it....
You can save it! On the line where the like button is, there's an option to save. (You may have to slide/swipe it left to get past the thanks button). You can create a playlist so it's organized.
@@AlphaFemmeXtineI have many of those, that was not the point I was trying to make. Even when it's in a saved list, and when scrolling thru the list of saved videos, and seeing a caption (for example) "click on this or else your will die" is not going to help me determine the content of the video. My concern is that the content is excellent, but how do I find it in the future?
I noticed a lot of channel change the name after the fact, hopefully it is the case here. Regardless, it should added to the description so you can find it using google instead.
I always appreciate the difficulties that happen during a project. Not everything fits perfectly when you DIY and it's great to see how you overcome the problem
Wondering if using a jack under the bowed section would have helped ? I've generally avoided the 45 bevel trick as you will be removing bearing surface (and for PT lumber the best preserved surface).
I LOVE the real world problems that come up and the fact that you show them. Remodels are never cut and paste, something funky always comes up. Thank you for your dedication to showing us how it really is!
Thank you for this great RUclips Jeff! My can of worms with my failing balcony will be the BIG 2025 year project of another correction on my first custom house build in 2004 from a not so good contractor. Opening walls below to access the 2nd story tongue and groove 3/4" with the door leading out to the deck. This is another great schooling moment for me.
I had to do this a few months ago. I tore my old deck down, thinking I'd have a nice fall deck project but found my rim joist rotten in the same spot...under the patio door. I have a crawl space so I was able to get under there and jack the house up 4 or 5 joists at a time with 2 pump jacks and a 4x4. Jacked it up til I could see daylight, removed the old, installed the new, and repeated on down the line.
30 years ago when I added a deck, the codes enforcement did not allow for a ledger board. Additional footers and piers had to be installed next to the house.
Great video- love watching you and Matt working together and solving the challenges you face. As I was watching you put this board in, I must admit I was amazed you were going to be able to place one long section in without scabbing a whole bunch of small pieces together... then you did what I expected would need to be done- cut it in sections. In the end, it is very strong and surely better than the old carpenters trick of rolled or angle sawed edge.Thanks for sharing your work and helping us all be better at keeping our homes safe and warm. Cheers from FLA way.
Jeff, this past summer my dad and i replaced a section of rim joist on my garage. We had a similar issue getting our new piece installed, so i wanted to share our solution: we used a small sheet of 1/16" stainless steel as a shoe horn of sorts to get the new rim under the floor. It was a tight fit, so we knew the new piece was picking up the load.
Though a bit "unconventional" I wonder if a length of house wrap / Tyvek or lengths of thin tough plastic or steel from packaging / wide lumber straps might work similarly ? Reduce friction at & along the known narrow contact spots. I seem to prefer the lift & lower bottle jack fix method though, when necessary, despite it being rather involved. (I really appreciate Jeff's cut it into pieces reasoning & installation details. It may become the go to method if the following isn't easy enough for the job). Maybe a combination of these approaches? Use a bottle / low profile hydraulic jack from the inside to lift where it's sagging most to make it easier to force the board in using conventional sledge & or with thin, tough slippery-shims?
Another great video. Your videos have helped me so much over the past couple years. In this case - in hindsight - because you ended up cutting the new board into sections anyway, would you have been better off to NOT cut out the board to the full length of a new board (10' 3" or whatever it was) and instead just cut out the rotted out part? So leave the good wood in place and just replaced a smaller section (say 6' or whatever)? Just want to be sure I understand what happened here. I can't see myself tackling this any time soon (although we do have carpenter ants in the living room!), but I'd like to be sure I understood what happened here. Thanks for the great videos!
When I did mine i had to confirm the level and space because of building inconsistencies but also the house had settled like 1/4 inch because of the rotted rim joist. the reason i started the project was because the door was having trouble closing - because of the settling and the level had gotten off. i ran into almost and more of the same stuff here. great vid
I have a couple questions. First if you don't feel that the 3/16 inch sag is too much to correct why not plane off the extra wood where the contact is too tight? If you are concerned about the sag why not lift the floor on that end with a floor jack or a hydraulic jack and a 4x4 timber? Then the timber would fit. One of my concerns with using treated lumber is that when the moisture dries out it does shrink significantly in the width. I have noticed this building picknick tables.
Incredibly well done! My issue with my house is my home is on a crawl space. I can see the sill plate from inside the crawl. It appears the area that should be replaced is under a patio door. There's a deck along the outside but it isn't attached to the sill plate, it is only supported on 4x4 posts in concrete. I see rotting sill plate between the floor joists. Any suggestions on repairing this when I can't access the outside of the sill plate?
I love how you solved real-world problems with your rim joists replacement. Things do not actually go according to a plan! Thanks again, guys & and keep up the good work!
I think it's great how you keep it as real as you do for how it ALWAYS goes in the real world. Nothing ever goes as easy as it should when renovating a house. You ALWAYS have problems with things going back together. Thanks Jeff and Matt
Any time I have issues with a rim joist or other framing pushing out when I'm driving it in place I will screw a board vertically and use a couple wedges to drive it in.Put a fender washer on the screws to keep the scab board from splitting. It also helps keep the edges from splitting like yours did.Bee's wax or candle wax rubbed on the edge of rim joist or stud will also make driving it into place easier. My local bee keeper sells blocks of bee's wax for a couple bucks. I also put bee's wax on the threads of longer screws to make it easier to drive them in.
Love your videos! We live in Texas and have been looking for a good way to keep the heat out of the attic. We have ample insulation blown in and are hesitant to get spray foam due to the selling the house issues. I see your videos that use foam board and thinking I could just tack up some board on the underside of the rafters, but not sure on its effectiveness. Cutting that much form and spraying around it would be a PIA up there. Would love to see this covered in a video! (or a suggestion). Thanks again for all the confidence you create for me in my DIY journey.
I don't know what the codes are in your area but we can not use electro plated galvanized nails on PT lumber where I live. The new PT lumber quickly corrodes EP galvanized nails and stainless steel is the best method here. Hot dipped galvanized is also good but hammer strikes on the head can damage the nail and that opens up the metal to corrode.
Right or wrong when I replaced 20 feet of RJ(under a bank of windows 15’.) I installed an external beam across face of ext.wall. Bottle jacked up. Fell in but I also used adhesive.
I always enjoy watching your videos. I am going to have to do exactly the same thing you did here, because I too have a rotten rim joist under my back door. What complicates it for me is that I have a back deck in the way of replacing it. So, I figure I’m going to have to make some temporary supports to hold the deck up once it is no longer bolted to the house. The supports out under the deck railing won’t likely be able to hold the weight of it all.
This exact same thing happened to me, but it wasn't just the rim joist, it was all of the framing below it and the sheathing... all rotten. I had to replace it all. It was quite the project but well worth it. Learned a lot. Grace Ice & Water Shield will hopefully prevent it from happening again.
Jeff, I would have never thought of cutting up pieces of the 2x10. I would have been hammering until the cows came home! I am not a carpenter, but you showed us a great way around the problem. Thanks! and Happy New Year to you and family. p.s. Where's your snow??
I love the real life process of finding solutions on the spot for specific problems because in construction just like in life nothing no’s ever just cut and dry or cut and fit 😂in this case ! Great video
Jeff, my deck contractor installed my deck directly over the the sidings without a proper ledger board. I am now looking to hire an engineer for producing a report. I will contact my contractor this week and will try to solve this once and for all. The worst of all is this was supposed to be a high end job... the price was high end for sure.
I will leave bridging on the left side that you installed under the two jamb studs and add another piece under remaining two. Also I will do the same thing on the right side, one on each side of the joist (since there is a joist in the middle of that column at opening jambs). Also I will secure all bridges with nails. It is very easy to do it now.
Great video. Is it possible that the vent (dryer vent?) under the sliding door there was contributing to the moisture problem and the rot of the original board you removed?
One of the things I learned from owning a boat, is that whenever you put a screw into wood or a bolt through wood, you should put silicone on the threads as well as under whatever is being attached to the wood. Because humidity may condense on the cold metal of the screw threads and so migrate deep into the screw/bolt hole to rot the wood ("dry" rot is not really something that happens to dry wood. It happens when fungus eats away at damp wood, wood damp from fresh water, like rainwater or condensation. I would think the same applies to wood used in home building. Protection against condensation is possibly another advantage to fastening wood with wooden pegs and wedges).
Why not put nailing blocks on each of the joists the same way you put the temporary 2x4 support under the studs for the door header? This would "encourage" the gap to re-align with the replacement rim joist dimensions and give some support to those "buckling" joists. It would also make your plan for shorter rim joist sections easier by giving you more nailing surface.
Two things: 1) “Oops, we split the joist!” Well, stop and pull it; it’s been compromised. 2) “This section is under compression, the floor joints have bowed.” Well, break out the floor jacks, that’s what they’re for. Restore the proper spacing, install the rim, and remove the jacks from the inside of the structure. Problem solved. Cutting the replacement rim into smaller pieces works also, which is your solution.
Awesome video, been following the channel for a few years now. Wonderful stuff, thanks for the education. Any thoughts on using a jack to push the joists up a quarter inch, sliding in the rim joist and then letting it back down? What would be the downsides?
I used pressure treated plywood on the lower 2ft of my sheathing and wrapped it with 12” of flashing tape prior to my ledger with ledger flashing which was then taped👌
Jeff I’d just like to thank you for everything you share on RUclips. I have done a 4 apprenticeship in tiling and waterproofing in 2007 - 2011 and then did a 4 carpentry apprenticeship from 2011 to 2014 (some elements crossed over for trade school so it was a little quicker). Everything you post is spot on and even changed the way I do decks because of you. Thanks buddy
This was a fun video to watch. Not only because you had to eat a little of your house, but because it was interesting to see you encounter something that completely compromises the project and have to come up with a different solution. Also, what was that sheating that was on the foundation. Is that there just to hold the Tyvek?
Before you add a ledger board for a deck cut out the Tyvek and install self adhesive Grace Vycor flashing membrane. Install the ledger board over that with Ledgerloks and install coated aluminum flashing to the top and exténd under the siding.
This is something I have been contemplating on my house, but I also wonder how you would go about replacing the part of the "rim joist" that don't have the joist ends
With those two floor joists that had cupped, I am surprised you didn't laminate some supporting board on each side of them to take the weight. It might make the floor a little less creaky near the door.
We had a rim joist which had rotted from the inside, because someone had stuffed fiberglass insulation into the joist cavities above the open concrete block. Any water vapor making its way up through the concrete block was getting trapped and saturating the insulation - 50 years later, the joist was basically nonexistent
"If you see carpenter ants in your living room, it's because they're living under your door" in the rotten rim joist. LOL I love that line! A rotten joist also makes for an unsafe floor.
Your vertical support under the door load posts should have the same cross-section as the built-up post above it. A 2x6 was not really large enough and the bearing surfaces are overloaded. For safety, I would also have expected you to add some blocking to all the joists from which you removed the rim joist to prevent the risk of twisting the joists when the ends are free. I would also glue the split in your replacement rim joist segment. I think that a much easier solution to your joist height issue would have been to lift the joists the way that Matt suggested from the start.
You're so right, the building code is useless on this. I have a 12 yo apartment building near Ottawa (that I didn't build) with the rim board completely rotten at the deck already. One whole side of my house with a wraparound deck has the same problem, the deck actually collapsed off the house two winters ago with a heavy snow load because the rim board was rotten. Most annoyingly, I've owned the house since 2017, and the deck was completely replaced in 2015 and they didn't fix the issue at the time by rebuilding with an air gap and waterproofing... AND my neighbour did the work LOL. I've been putting it off, but I'll be tackling it this spring. Naturally, mine is a supporting wall and parrallel with the floor joists, and I had the joist cavities spray foamed in 2017, so it's going to be an absolute PIA to remove the old one. My plan is to do small sections at a time while bracing the framing between studs from the outside and blocking the heck out of it to the foundation (I'm going to re-side at the same time). It should be code to have an air gap between a rim board and deck ledger board so both can dry (along with proper waterproofing). I don't think using PT is enough unless your roof has a large overhang. If it gets wet and can't dry, the PT rim joist will still rot. I have a cottage with a PWF foundation made of the real nasty copper preserved wood that has seen some rot over 20 years due to a drainage issue.
Ive been a window and door installer 25 yrs now. Ive noticed there will be more rot around the ones that are a Tyvek wrapped structure. Tyvek does not breath. Even humidity can get behind it, but not back out. The lumber has to absorb it. Go back to the beginning of the video when he is moving the tyvek. You can hear how much like poly it sounds. We all know poly does not breath. Old school tar paper is the best. "Typar" is a 2nd choice .
Learned the same when removed 9ft of exterior wall (mostly window) and butted 2 - 2x10 to span the gap. Measured straight, end to end, for the joist hangers and turned out best method would have been to measure joist to joist to compensate for variances.
had very slight sag when i replaced my houses joists in the shower area and deck, i had to use bottle jacks in the basement to lift the house very slightly to set it.
Can also use a power planer to make that bevel edge. And if you had a sheet of polyethylene, I bet that board could slip in there as is with a few hammer blows..
Where the floor joist are bowed causing the opening to be to tight, I am curious couldn't you have cut a 2 x 4 and wedge and lag it against each of the floor joist tails to create an even opening so that your board would slip right in. This would also have the advantage of taking some of the weight of of the floor joist that are bowing and strengthen them.
I’m a first time homeowner with a young family. I just did a project like this last year on the front of our house. Wish this video was out last year at this time. I hit very similar pitfalls/roadblocks plus some, had to figure out how to solve them. Older houses are never square, plumb, nor level. Love your videos. Thanks for helping out all us DIYers. You have straightforward, practical and applicable advice.
Or a small hydraulic jack that you can use to open the gap far enough to place a block between the floor joist so that the gap is just big enough to put the end plate in and nail it into place. Then, maybe, take those blocks out from the inside so it is easier to insulate those spaces.
Another cause of this Water Migration id that the Bolts and Screwws were not installed with bedding compound. I recommend a Polyurethane compound such as 3M 5200--been using this for over 50years, available at Lowes, Home Depot and all Marine Stores. Any time you pierce the skin of your House(or Boat) you dip your screws and bolts in a bedding compound-------Mikey, Belfair, Wa
I would think that jacking up your bowed point from inside (across three joints) would allow the rim joint to go in easier at full size, removing the low spot. Sistering the bowed joists from rim to 3-4 feet back afterwards should help to distribute downward force and avoid it bowing again. You can hammer the crap out of it or you can cut your 45 (or round over with a router) and then remove the jack(s).
Such a good video. I was wondering how will be the process for replacing the rim joists on the side of this wall where the joists are parallel of the rim joist and not perpendicular like in this video.
Thank you for watching. If you found this video helpful please subscribe. Learn how to insulate your rim joist 👉🏼 ruclips.net/video/J95l9Ue4224/видео.htmlsi=Ol0mnkaN78hGDRmb
Matt is going to make a good contractor and older home measurements all be off in the entire house it's a pain to measure anything accurate.
I was thinking that if you went inside and got a couple of 2x8s on their side nailed together. You then made a couple of 4x4 posts under those 2x8s. You them jacked under the joists inside..maybe 1/2 inch or so to increase the space for the PT rim board you want to install. It should slip in with a little persuading. You could then nail the new rim board to the ends of the floor joists...and lower the temporary support you built. Should be nice and tight and flush. I wouldnt hesitate to spray some wood preservative everywhere you can when you have the cavity open.
Talking through the resolution process is so much more helpful than resolving a problem off camera and slipping a perfectly fit piece into place. It's those issues, AND THEIR PROPER RESOLUTION, that are a significant barrier for most of us weekend warriors. Thanks for not glossing over things gone wrong.
Agreed. This is the most realistic repair video… Not video edits to skip the troubleshooting.
Jeff, you are the man! No pretending that everything goes smoothly. Show the reality that is working with wood and not Lego. Your real life demonstrations give us DIY'rs confidence to do it and not be discouraged by inevitable issues. Thanks for all you do.
I second that pal.
Cheers, glad I can help!
Well said Scott, commend you on the positive weigh in .
The way you troubleshot the bow in the floor joists was impressive. I’ve been a fan for about 4 years now and you’ve helped me renovate my bathroom, kitchen and build a media wall in my living room. I have shared your page with family and coworkers and although I’ve subscribed, I have not been a member. That is until today. Please keep making this content. You are real, make mistakes and face unplanned challenges and I love how you work through them. It’s also beautiful how you get to work with your son. Matt has grown up a lot over the years. Thank you again and I appreciate all you do and share with us. Great great video.
I love how you find problems and then talk us through solving them!
Same
I like how he had a problem. Most videos I see online make it look so easy without any issues and I get overconfident and as soon as I go to do exactly that I run into issues like this and wonder what I did wrong.
The way you explain things makes it so easy to comprehend what you're doing and why, and how to go about tacking problems you dont expect along the way. Great video.
Thanks, happy to help. Cheers!
Good video. Ran into similar problems replacing termite damage. Was able to fasten a ledger to the studs and use a couple of short pipe jacks to Jack against them to get the sag out for the treated lumber width. It should be noted that the treated lumber is usually still wet when installed and will shrink as it dries. Also, a good practice to paint any cut ends with preservative .
Exactly what I was planning to write. With those bowed / warped floorjoist ends, you need some blocking under the wall plate down to the foundation. And there is a lot that some jacks can lift :). In hindsight such blocks should maybe have been put there from the beginning. At least under the king and jack posts.
Better than the job itself is how well you two get along. There's no superiority complexes. No bad attitudes. No control issues. Supportive comments when things didn't go as planned. Good teamwork. 👍 You two are an inspiration to the construction field.
Did this a few years ago to rim joist with massive termite damage. You guys made it look easy. For me, the sledge hammer and I became good friends when the new rim joist needed to be beaten into place.
I work for a large new home building company in Ontario, and when building a new home, we carry the load down to the foundation.
Where you had the 4-2x6s above the floor, we cut 4-2x6s and put them in the exact same location in the basement.
Hope you understand what I mean.
If we don't do that, we don't pass inspection.
Best construction Channel on RUclips!
Exactly, I will not rely on rim joist only.
That is actually the code. Post has to be fully carried down to foundation. The rim joist and 1 piece of 2x4 will not pass. Better way is to lay additional lumber to make the sill match the 2x6 depth then add additional 2x6 pieces to block the entire post. I see spray foam between an original stud the new 3 member post (king and 2 jacks) so 3 pieces of 2x6 for blocking. I know the inspectors here in Ottawa. They will want to see at least photos of the structure under the post otherwise I know some will make you rip out the spray foam in that joist space to see it.
Good to see real world problems that can arise even when you do due diligence. Always enjoy your videos.
Thanks, happy to help. Cheers!
Everyday Jeff uploads a video is a good day. Cheers Jeff!
Thanks! Cheers!
Thank you for breaking things down and explaining the house anatomy. I am not even in need of doing this particular project..yet..but learned a lot about home construction. Father son working together is heart-warming. I love doing projects with my boys too.
Blessings Jeff.
Paul
I'm surprised that you guys didn't put in addition blocking in between the joists before putting the new rim joist. Especially where the point load of the studs where.
A section of my home has this exact problem (along with the subsequent "mitigating factors") my biggest issue is that right now everything is still incredibly wet and we are just heading into winter so my first order of business seems to be "control the marsh" then dry out the saturated materials... then decide what to replace and in what order. I learned a lot from this video!
Happy to help! Cheers!
Just wanted to say this channel is my favorite No Nonsense channel. And I agree with other commenters about the true to life situations that are definitely not sugar coated. I worked in construction for a time and loved every second of it. My question is why not jack up the floor joists to accommodate then let down? My plan “b” would have been to plane the thicknesses in order to accommodate the rim joist not being received flush. Love your channel! I’m about to do this too but it’s to one that is parallel so shouldn’t be a major issue but you never know!
Hi 👋
Here's a stupid question - (maybe uneducated is better)... Can I find this video by searching for: how to replace dry rotten rim joist? Will it come up? I just did the search and looked through the results and it didn't pop up. My concern is that I love your videos - I live in Toronto area and live your real advice, and would love to know that I can search up your videos. My only concern is that when I go looking for this video in the future should I need it, I won't be able to find it....
You can save it! On the line where the like button is, there's an option to save. (You may have to slide/swipe it left to get past the thanks button). You can create a playlist so it's organized.
Excellent question. Click-bait titles aren't good for teaching/reference videos.
Make a playlist and save the video to that playlist
@@AlphaFemmeXtineI have many of those, that was not the point I was trying to make. Even when it's in a saved list, and when scrolling thru the list of saved videos, and seeing a caption (for example) "click on this or else your will die" is not going to help me determine the content of the video. My concern is that the content is excellent, but how do I find it in the future?
I noticed a lot of channel change the name after the fact, hopefully it is the case here. Regardless, it should added to the description so you can find it using google instead.
I always appreciate the difficulties that happen during a project. Not everything fits perfectly when you DIY and it's great to see how you overcome the problem
It's a part of the process. Cheers!
I appreciate how you included all the unexpected problems you encountered. Just like my projects. 😊
Wondering if using a jack under the bowed section would have helped ? I've generally avoided the 45 bevel trick as you will be removing bearing surface (and for PT lumber the best preserved surface).
I LOVE the real world problems that come up and the fact that you show them. Remodels are never cut and paste, something funky always comes up. Thank you for your dedication to showing us how it really is!
Thank you for this great RUclips Jeff! My can of worms with my failing balcony will be the BIG 2025 year project of another correction on my first custom house build in 2004 from a not so good contractor. Opening walls below to access the 2nd story tongue and groove 3/4" with the door leading out to the deck. This is another great schooling moment for me.
I had to do this a few months ago. I tore my old deck down, thinking I'd have a nice fall deck project but found my rim joist rotten in the same spot...under the patio door. I have a crawl space so I was able to get under there and jack the house up 4 or 5 joists at a time with 2 pump jacks and a 4x4. Jacked it up til I could see daylight, removed the old, installed the new, and repeated on down the line.
Would it have helped to cut a shallower chamfer to act as a more progressive wedge allowing the board to roll in easier?
I did my rim joists same problems and I found using grease wheel bearing grease works wonders
Glad to see real problems in construction. Good job guys.
It's refreshing to see ACTUAL real-time construction with real successes and setbacks like the real world. I applaud these gentlemen.
My house had this problem too.. good to see not only me has that
Son's idea of temporary wall was a good call. Great information throughout.
30 years ago when I added a deck, the codes enforcement did not allow for a ledger board. Additional footers and piers had to be installed next to the house.
I can’t get the idea of Jeff playing tennis out of my head. Thanks for the great video
Great video- love watching you and Matt working together and solving the challenges you face. As I was watching you put this board in, I must admit I was amazed you were going to be able to place one long section in without scabbing a whole bunch of small pieces together... then you did what I expected would need to be done- cut it in sections. In the end, it is very strong and surely better than the old carpenters trick of rolled or angle sawed edge.Thanks for sharing your work and helping us all be better at keeping our homes safe and warm. Cheers from FLA way.
Thanks, we enjoy working together! Cheers from FLA!
Jeff, this past summer my dad and i replaced a section of rim joist on my garage. We had a similar issue getting our new piece installed, so i wanted to share our solution: we used a small sheet of 1/16" stainless steel as a shoe horn of sorts to get the new rim under the floor. It was a tight fit, so we knew the new piece was picking up the load.
Though a bit "unconventional" I wonder if a length of house wrap / Tyvek or lengths of thin tough plastic or steel from packaging / wide lumber straps might work similarly ?
Reduce friction at & along the known narrow contact spots.
I seem to prefer the lift & lower bottle jack fix method though, when necessary, despite it being rather involved. (I really appreciate Jeff's cut it into pieces reasoning & installation details. It may become the go to method if the following isn't easy enough for the job).
Maybe a combination of these approaches?
Use a bottle / low profile hydraulic jack from the inside to lift where it's sagging most to make it easier to force the board in using conventional sledge & or with thin, tough slippery-shims?
That's awesome, glad you got it figured out!
Another great video. Your videos have helped me so much over the past couple years.
In this case - in hindsight - because you ended up cutting the new board into sections anyway, would you have been better off to NOT cut out the board to the full length of a new board (10' 3" or whatever it was) and instead just cut out the rotted out part? So leave the good wood in place and just replaced a smaller section (say 6' or whatever)?
Just want to be sure I understand what happened here. I can't see myself tackling this any time soon (although we do have carpenter ants in the living room!), but I'd like to be sure I understood what happened here.
Thanks for the great videos!
When I did mine i had to confirm the level and space because of building inconsistencies but also the house had settled like 1/4 inch because of the rotted rim joist. the reason i started the project was because the door was having trouble closing - because of the settling and the level had gotten off. i ran into almost and more of the same stuff here. great vid
I have a couple questions. First if you don't feel that the 3/16 inch sag is too much to correct why not plane off the extra wood where the contact is too tight? If you are concerned about the sag why not lift the floor on that end with a floor jack or a hydraulic jack and a 4x4 timber? Then the timber would fit. One of my concerns with using treated lumber is that when the moisture dries out it does shrink significantly in the width. I have noticed this building picknick tables.
The bow was the problem, not the thickness. By cutting the board up, they made it snake through that bowed space.
Incredibly well done! My issue with my house is my home is on a crawl space. I can see the sill plate from inside the crawl. It appears the area that should be replaced is under a patio door. There's a deck along the outside but it isn't attached to the sill plate, it is only supported on 4x4 posts in concrete. I see rotting sill plate between the floor joists. Any suggestions on repairing this when I can't access the outside of the sill plate?
Wild. I literally just discovered this problem on my house a few days ago. The timing was perfect thanks for being awesome!
I love how you solved real-world problems with your rim joists replacement. Things do not actually go according to a plan! Thanks again, guys & and keep up the good work!
You got it. Cheers!
I think it's great how you keep it as real as you do for how it ALWAYS goes in the real world. Nothing ever goes as easy as it should when renovating a house. You ALWAYS have problems with things going back together.
Thanks Jeff and Matt
Happy to help! Cheers!
Any time I have issues with a rim joist or other framing pushing out when I'm driving it in place I will screw a board vertically and use a couple wedges to drive it in.Put a fender washer on the screws to keep the scab board from splitting. It also helps keep the edges from splitting like yours did.Bee's wax or candle wax rubbed on the edge of rim joist or stud will also make driving it into place easier. My local bee keeper sells blocks of bee's wax for a couple bucks. I also put bee's wax on the threads of longer screws to make it easier to drive them in.
Love your videos! We live in Texas and have been looking for a good way to keep the heat out of the attic. We have ample insulation blown in and are hesitant to get spray foam due to the selling the house issues. I see your videos that use foam board and thinking I could just tack up some board on the underside of the rafters, but not sure on its effectiveness. Cutting that much form and spraying around it would be a PIA up there. Would love to see this covered in a video! (or a suggestion). Thanks again for all the confidence you create for me in my DIY journey.
Thank you sharing this major dilemma. Learned so much.
Glad it was helpful!
Holy moly Jeff, your son looks like your own “mini me “ LOL. 😊love you guys thank you for your information.
Hi 😊
I don't know what the codes are in your area but we can not use electro plated galvanized nails on PT lumber where I live. The new PT lumber quickly corrodes EP galvanized nails and stainless steel is the best method here. Hot dipped galvanized is also good but hammer strikes on the head can damage the nail and that opens up the metal to corrode.
Right or wrong when I replaced 20 feet of RJ(under a bank of windows 15’.) I installed an external beam across face of ext.wall. Bottle jacked up. Fell in but I also used adhesive.
I always enjoy watching your videos. I am going to have to do exactly the same thing you did here, because I too have a rotten rim joist under my back door. What complicates it for me is that I have a back deck in the way of replacing it. So, I figure I’m going to have to make some temporary supports to hold the deck up once it is no longer bolted to the house. The supports out under the deck railing won’t likely be able to hold the weight of it all.
Great video. Love listening to and watching to your instruction.
This exact same thing happened to me, but it wasn't just the rim joist, it was all of the framing below it and the sheathing... all rotten. I had to replace it all. It was quite the project but well worth it. Learned a lot. Grace Ice & Water Shield will hopefully prevent it from happening again.
I would have tried a hand held planer across the top of that board in some arears
Jeff, I would have never thought of cutting up pieces of the 2x10. I would have been hammering until the cows came home! I am not a carpenter, but you showed us a great way around the problem. Thanks! and Happy New Year to you and family. p.s. Where's your snow??
A jack and some blocking would also help here.
I love the real life process of finding solutions on the spot for specific problems because in construction just like in life nothing no’s ever just cut and dry or cut and fit 😂in this case ! Great video
That was probably one of my most favorite videos with you and your son I can only imagine the back-and-forth dialogue going on
Jeff, my deck contractor installed my deck directly over the the sidings without a proper ledger board. I am now looking to hire an engineer for producing a report. I will contact my contractor this week and will try to solve this once and for all. The worst of all is this was supposed to be a high end job... the price was high end for sure.
I will leave bridging on the left side that you installed under the two jamb studs and add another piece under remaining two. Also I will do the same thing on the right side, one on each side of the joist (since there is a joist in the middle of that column at opening jambs). Also I will secure all bridges with nails. It is very easy to do it now.
Great video. Is it possible that the vent (dryer vent?) under the sliding door there was contributing to the moisture problem and the rot of the original board you removed?
Here in Missouri, USA, We call those "Squash Blocks" solid blocking for blocking/ supporting that point load properly.
One of the things I learned from owning a boat, is that whenever you put a screw into wood or a bolt through wood, you should put silicone on the threads as well as under whatever is being attached to the wood. Because humidity may condense on the cold metal of the screw threads and so migrate deep into the screw/bolt hole to rot the wood ("dry" rot is not really something that happens to dry wood. It happens when fungus eats away at damp wood, wood damp from fresh water, like rainwater or condensation. I would think the same applies to wood used in home building. Protection against condensation is possibly another advantage to fastening wood with wooden pegs and wedges).
Good work. Any cuts of treated lumber need end cut preservative.
Why not put nailing blocks on each of the joists the same way you put the temporary 2x4 support under the studs for the door header? This would "encourage" the gap to re-align with the replacement rim joist dimensions and give some support to those "buckling" joists. It would also make your plan for shorter rim joist sections easier by giving you more nailing surface.
Bingo!!!
Two things: 1) “Oops, we split the joist!” Well, stop and pull it; it’s been compromised.
2) “This section is under compression, the floor joints have bowed.” Well, break out the floor jacks, that’s what they’re for. Restore the proper spacing, install the rim, and remove the jacks from the inside of the structure. Problem solved.
Cutting the replacement rim into smaller pieces works also, which is your solution.
This series feels like the 2020-era Toronto Farm House series, only even better. Cheers from Detroit!
Awesome video, been following the channel for a few years now. Wonderful stuff, thanks for the education.
Any thoughts on using a jack to push the joists up a quarter inch, sliding in the rim joist and then letting it back down? What would be the downsides?
New sub now, I like that you show how to be resourceful for new challenges that will inevitably present themselves.
I used pressure treated plywood on the lower 2ft of my sheathing and wrapped it with 12” of flashing tape prior to my ledger with ledger flashing which was then taped👌
Jeff I’d just like to thank you for everything you share on RUclips. I have done a 4 apprenticeship in tiling and waterproofing in 2007 - 2011 and then did a 4 carpentry apprenticeship from 2011 to 2014 (some elements crossed over for trade school so it was a little quicker). Everything you post is spot on and even changed the way I do decks because of you. Thanks buddy
Thanks, I appreciate that.
This was a fun video to watch. Not only because you had to eat a little of your house, but because it was interesting to see you encounter something that completely compromises the project and have to come up with a different solution.
Also, what was that sheating that was on the foundation. Is that there just to hold the Tyvek?
Before you add a ledger board for a deck cut out the Tyvek and install self adhesive Grace Vycor flashing membrane. Install the ledger board over that with Ledgerloks and install coated aluminum flashing to the top and exténd under the siding.
What of using 2 ton or 2 ton jacks?
This is something I have been contemplating on my house, but I also wonder how you would go about replacing the part of the "rim joist" that don't have the joist ends
Good solution for the ledger board problem.
With those two floor joists that had cupped, I am surprised you didn't laminate some supporting board on each side of them to take the weight. It might make the floor a little less creaky near the door.
Hot Damn I love this chan!!! You all explain this so well and it's so much easier to understand whats going on! Keep up the great work!
Happy to help, thanks for watching!
We had a rim joist which had rotted from the inside, because someone had stuffed fiberglass insulation into the joist cavities above the open concrete block. Any water vapor making its way up through the concrete block was getting trapped and saturating the insulation - 50 years later, the joist was basically nonexistent
I love your work i live in flat my upper flat very noisy how i make soundproof my flat
"If you see carpenter ants in your living room, it's because they're living under your door" in the rotten rim joist. LOL I love that line! A rotten joist also makes for an unsafe floor.
Your vertical support under the door load posts should have the same cross-section as the built-up post above it. A 2x6 was not really large enough and the bearing surfaces are overloaded. For safety, I would also have expected you to add some blocking to all the joists from which you removed the rim joist to prevent the risk of twisting the joists when the ends are free.
I would also glue the split in your replacement rim joist segment. I think that a much easier solution to your joist height issue would have been to lift the joists the way that Matt suggested from the start.
I HAVE THAT PROBLEM TOOO!!!
SUCH A VALUABLE VIDEO!!!
You're so right, the building code is useless on this. I have a 12 yo apartment building near Ottawa (that I didn't build) with the rim board completely rotten at the deck already. One whole side of my house with a wraparound deck has the same problem, the deck actually collapsed off the house two winters ago with a heavy snow load because the rim board was rotten. Most annoyingly, I've owned the house since 2017, and the deck was completely replaced in 2015 and they didn't fix the issue at the time by rebuilding with an air gap and waterproofing... AND my neighbour did the work LOL.
I've been putting it off, but I'll be tackling it this spring. Naturally, mine is a supporting wall and parrallel with the floor joists, and I had the joist cavities spray foamed in 2017, so it's going to be an absolute PIA to remove the old one. My plan is to do small sections at a time while bracing the framing between studs from the outside and blocking the heck out of it to the foundation (I'm going to re-side at the same time). It should be code to have an air gap between a rim board and deck ledger board so both can dry (along with proper waterproofing). I don't think using PT is enough unless your roof has a large overhang. If it gets wet and can't dry, the PT rim joist will still rot. I have a cottage with a PWF foundation made of the real nasty copper preserved wood that has seen some rot over 20 years due to a drainage issue.
You one of my favorites, thanks for all your hard work 🙏
I appreciate that!
nice video. understanding the load path instills a lot of confidence.
Cheers, happy to help!
Love your videos, man. Witty, problem solving, humorous
Glad you enjoy it!
Thank you for showing the struggle!
Ive been a window and door installer 25 yrs now. Ive noticed there will be more rot around the ones that are a Tyvek wrapped structure. Tyvek does not breath. Even humidity can get behind it, but not back out. The lumber has to absorb it. Go back to the beginning of the video when he is moving the tyvek. You can hear how much like poly it sounds. We all know poly does not breath. Old school tar paper is the best. "Typar" is a 2nd choice .
Learned the same when removed 9ft of exterior wall (mostly window) and butted 2 - 2x10 to span the gap. Measured straight, end to end, for the joist hangers and turned out best method would have been to measure joist to joist to compensate for variances.
Priceless advice. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
had very slight sag when i replaced my houses joists in the shower area and deck, i had to use bottle jacks in the basement to lift the house very slightly to set it.
Can also use a power planer to make that bevel edge.
And if you had a sheet of polyethylene, I bet that board could slip in there as is with a few hammer blows..
We had to redo outs this summer, 6’ lengths were key. Otherwise it would’ve been near impossible to hammer in full length rims.
Where the floor joist are bowed causing the opening to be to tight, I am curious couldn't you have cut a 2 x 4 and wedge and lag it against each of the floor joist tails to create an even opening so that your board would slip right in. This would also have the advantage of taking some of the weight of of the floor joist that are bowing and strengthen them.
I’m a first time homeowner with a young family. I just did a project like this last year on the front of our house. Wish this video was out last year at this time. I hit very similar pitfalls/roadblocks plus some, had to figure out how to solve them. Older houses are never square, plumb, nor level.
Love your videos. Thanks for helping out all us DIYers. You have straightforward, practical and applicable advice.
which year is that building code? tying to find if my house has same issue
Or a small hydraulic jack that you can use to open the gap far enough to place a block between the floor joist so that the gap is just big enough to put the end plate in and nail it into place. Then, maybe, take those blocks out from the inside so it is easier to insulate those spaces.
Another cause of this Water Migration id that the Bolts and Screwws were not installed with bedding compound. I recommend a Polyurethane compound such as 3M 5200--been using this for over 50years, available at Lowes, Home Depot and all Marine Stores. Any time you pierce the skin of your House(or Boat) you dip your screws and bolts in a bedding compound-------Mikey, Belfair, Wa
Always great videos. But maybe Jack up the floor joists to get you that little bit.
I would think that jacking up your bowed point from inside (across three joints) would allow the rim joint to go in easier at full size, removing the low spot. Sistering the bowed joists from rim to 3-4 feet back afterwards should help to distribute downward force and avoid it bowing again. You can hammer the crap out of it or you can cut your 45 (or round over with a router) and then remove the jack(s).
Such a good video. I was wondering how will be the process for replacing the rim joists on the side of this wall where the joists are parallel of the rim joist and not perpendicular like in this video.
One small section at a time make it a double and stagger the joints. Cheers
Can't believe how big Matt has gotten! He's really talking like a pro now, too! They grow up so fast haha
He used to be a chip off the old block but now I am looking like the chip.Cheers
Is there a way to replace the rim hoist from inside? I have a cement balcony and it would be a pain to destroy it.