I bought a foreclosure property 3 years ago in the "dreaded" Ranchclub :rolleyes: and apparently, the original builder didnt install supports other than the center load bearing columns and the floor joists are southern pine at 12' lengths and its a two story.:doh: From everything I can find, its supposed to be supported if over 9'.

THe home has cracks in the ceiling upstairs, but thankfully no major structural damage. Im trying to find a good company that can give me a good honest estimate to fix this, so I can present it to either a lawyer (assuming the builder is still around) or my insurance company. Thanks in advance.

While there was a lot of sub-standard work done in the Ranch Club, you MAY not have a structural problem at all, but merely one of "truss rise"..If most of your cracks are along a wall that runs perpendicular to the bottom chord of your trusses, then the cracks are actually the ceiling drywall rising up if the roof support is composed of trusses. Fairly typical for 5yr or older construction. Most homes since then have had measures taken to prevent this since it has become better understood. Only offering a probability, and one that is fairly common in the Ranch Club. There are ways to fix this most of the time and involves working in the attic, and ceiling of the second floor...

While there was a lot of sub-standard work done in the Ranch Club, you MAY not have a structural problem at all, but merely one of "truss rise"..If most of your cracks are along a wall that runs perpendicular to the bottom chord of your trusses, then the cracks are actually the ceiling drywall rising up if the roof support is composed of trusses. Fairly typical for 5yr or older construction. Most homes since then have had measures taken to prevent this since it has become better understood. Only offering a probability, and one that is fairly common in the Ranch Club. There are ways to fix this most of the time and involves working in the attic, and ceiling of the second floor...

Good info. Ill keep that in mind. However, I also (I know, I didnt mention it) have a dip in my living room where the air handler is hanging on the floor joists, and directly above that is where the cracks and ceiling warping has occurred. I also know after doing some digging that 12 feet is too far of a span to have unsupported for a 2 x 8 southern pine joist. We own a Cape Cod, which I believe only has trusses in the attic at the very ends, if at all. We are talking about the same thing, I hope- those pre-fabricated triangular trusses? If so, no, I dont have that type of construction, but there is joists up there also supporting the roof.

While there was a lot of sub-standard work done in the Ranch Club, you MAY not have a structural problem at all, but merely one of "truss rise"..If most of your cracks are along a wall that runs perpendicular to the bottom chord of your trusses, then the cracks are actually the ceiling drywall rising up if the roof support is composed of trusses. Fairly typical for 5yr or older construction. Most homes since then have had measures taken to prevent this since it has become better understood. Only offering a probability, and one that is fairly common in the Ranch Club. There are ways to fix this most of the time and involves working in the attic, and ceiling of the second floor...

Understatement of the year.

I bought a foreclosure property 3 years ago in the "dreaded" Ranchclub :rolleyes: and apparently, the original builder didnt install supports other than the center load bearing columns and the floor joists are southern pine at 12' lengths and its a two story.:doh: From everything I can find, its supposed to be supported if over 9'.

THe home has cracks in the ceiling upstairs, but thankfully no major structural damage. Im trying to find a good company that can give me a good honest estimate to fix this, so I can present it to either a lawyer (assuming the builder is still around) or my insurance company. Thanks in advance.

We had a lot of crawlspace repair done by Guardian Construction (Guardian Termite and Pest Control). What started out as repairs to one corner ended up as a full reconstruction! All in a 2 foot space. I have no idea if they were competetive price wise, but they did do a good job. They are based in Leonardtown.

We had a lot of crawlspace repair done by Guardian Construction (Guardian Termite and Pest Control). What started out as repairs to one corner ended up as a full reconstruction! All in a 2 foot space. I have no idea if they were competetive price wise, but they did do a good job. They are based in Leonardtown.

They must have subbed that out. Im just assuming a termite and pest control company wouldnt normally do structural repairs. Thanks! Ill keep that in mind.

Using span tables is a bit tricky. You can say "isn't sufficient" but that means nothing without some details. What is the joist spacing? What live and dead loads are you considering? What deflection are you considering acceptable?

Here's a decent set of tables.
http://www.msrlumber.org/spantables.pdf

For a 2x8 made from Southern Pine, with a 40/10 psf live/dead load (standard for residential), and a 360/L deflection (typical for floor joists), the maximum span is 13' 10". For 50/10 psf the span is 12' 10". So a 12' span is within reason.

With that said, 2x8 SEEMS too small to me. I would have expected a 2x10 from a quality builder, and personally I'd always go one step higher than the recommendations, just to provide a more solid floor. I tend to NOT like a 360/L deflection, as it feels bouncy to me.

Also, installing a several-hundred lb air handler mid-span would tend to cause sagging over time - as you have discovered. This should be taken into account when selecting the joist size, or when positioning the A/C unit. The unit should have been placed closer to one side instead of dead middle.

A fairly easy fix would be to install your own piers under the house, centered on the 12' width currently spanned by the existing joists. Then dig and pour suitable concrete footers every 10 or so feet to support a beam. Use a set of bottle jacks to push a new beam (maybe steel I-beam or a laminate wood beam) up into the right position and eliminate the existing sagging. Put cinder blocks on the footer pads, and shim everything up with treated lumber blocks and shims until it's solid before you remove the jacks. Should be reasonably inexpensive and not too slow to install. The hardest part is probably digging in a confined crawl space.

Using span tables is a bit tricky. You can say "isn't sufficient" but that means nothing without some details. What is the joist spacing? What live and dead loads are you considering? What deflection are you considering acceptable?

Here's a decent set of tables.
http://www.msrlumber.org/spantables.pdf

For a 2x8 made from Southern Pine, with a 40/10 psf live/dead load (standard for residential), and a 360/L deflection (typical for floor joists), the maximum span is 13' 10". For 50/10 psf the span is 12' 10". So a 12' span is within reason.

With that said, 2x8 SEEMS too small to me. I would have expected a 2x10 from a quality builder, and personally I'd always go one step higher than the recommendations, just to provide a more solid floor. I tend to NOT like a 360/L deflection, as it feels bouncy to me.

Also, installing a several-hundred lb air handler mid-span would tend to cause sagging over time - as you have discovered. This should be taken into account when selecting the joist size, or when positioning the A/C unit. The unit should have been placed closer to one side instead of dead middle.

A fairly easy fix would be to install your own piers under the house, centered on the 12' width currently spanned by the existing joists. Then dig and pour suitable concrete footers every 10 or so feet to support a beam. Use a set of bottle jacks to push a new beam (maybe steel I-beam or a laminate wood beam) up into the right position and eliminate the existing sagging. Put cinder blocks on the footer pads, and shim everything up with treated lumber blocks and shims until it's solid before you remove the jacks. Should be reasonably inexpensive and not too slow to install. The hardest part is probably digging in a confined crawl space.
Thanks! That clears up a lot...