Rim Joist Damage - Subfloor Repairs
The floor rim joist was damaged from a sprinkler that
sprayed on the stucco wall for many years. The stucco was badly damaged
and showed signs that there could be further damage in the framing. Only
after the stucco was removed could we verified this.
The rim joist, holds up the wall, which holds up the
roof. On a two story home, the rim joist is carrying the weight of the
wall, the second-floor, the second-floor wall and the roof. I hope
you're starting to get an idea of how much weight can actually be
supported by a single rim joist.
Repairing the rim joist can be dangerous and should only be done by an
experienced carpenter or contractor. Make sure that these building
professionals have experience and understand how much weight they are
dealing with.
Some of the damage to rim joist will create structural problems. Let's
say for example that you have a 5 1/2 inch rim joist. Termites have been
working on it for quite some time and it is now 4 1/2 inches. The weight
of the exterior wall is applying pressure to the damaged rim joist,
causing the wall to sag.
To repair this problem correctly, the floor and wall will need to be
raised enough to replace the damaged rim joist with a new 5 1/2 inch rim
joist. This kind of structural damage should be repaired my
professional.