Today is the day we finally put in the 1F ceiling / 2F floor joists.
First, remove the nails.
Adding the 20′ (6.096m) 2×8 took some planning. The house was not exact in its measurements. We propped the 2×8 up with some ladders and moved it into place. We had to plane the end of it down three times to get it to fit between the ribbon ledger and the subfloor, stuffed alongside the balloon stud.
We finally got it in.
The middle of the floor, 10′ (3m) from either side wall, was sagged about 1 3/4″ (4.5cm). Because new timber isn’t nearly as rigid as 120-year-old timber, I’m sure the floor wasn’t raised up that much. I’ll put a laser on it next time I’m there to see how much sag there is.
Next: the stair header. It actually took two tries. The old adage of measure twice, cut once didn’t work here. Why? Low blood sugar. Anyway, it is in now.
And finally, the first floor joist running from the south wall balloon stud to the stair header. Again, because of low blood sugar, my brain malfunctioned, and I measured the center between the original joist and the add-in spacer joist (put in under the 1st floor stairway wall) rather than between two actual joists. Duh. Anyway, after jacking, moving, shifting, banging, grunting, and measuring again, it is finally in.
Its sister will go in next time.