Great video explaining to a homeowner the reason for a shaking floor. Recently my builder just explained virtually the same thing to me after I moved in. Unfortunately for me and just about anyone else watching it's pretty much too late. Not sure about everyone else, but I would have rather my builder dislcose the fact that my house is going to shake like a camper trailer whenever someone uses the floor for normal day to day activity "walking from one room to the next". My house is built on a crawlspace and up to code as my builder pointed out "who-hoo!". I asked "what could you have done during the build to keep this from happening?" His response "well.........we would have had to add additional support". My response to that "Ok, so why didn't you offer that to me as opposed to the 50 purely cosmetic upgrades you pushed?". Builder response "shoulder shrug". Thanks for the video, out of curiousity - do you show this video to your customers before they finalize their plans or after the home is built?
Hi Brandon- Thank you for the compliment! I over saw the warranty division for the builder I used to work for, so I was not involved in any customer interaction until after they closed. So, my customers didn’t see this video until after they moved in and I sent them an email introducing myself.
Hello! Thank you. My home is almost two years old. My bed shakes every time someone walks by it. No one in my home is over 199lbs. One would think that with innovation, builders would change this process. It is VERY unnerving! Thank you for the education!
I recently moved to 2nd floor of a 3 story apartment. When my upstairs neighbors walks heavily or jumps, it feels like a small earthquake. I can feel that my sofa is bouncing while I'm sitting on it. Thanks to your video, I am relaxed a little bit. But still it's hard not to panic.
Dude you have no idea how paranoid I've become since moving into our new home (which is a LOT newer than my old home that I lived in) but it feels like the floor is shaking anytime someone walks or the kids are running around. Really appreciate you doing the walk through and also showing the support system in the basement as well.
It’s so bloody annoying. My kid runs around or my wife walks around upstairs and it sounds like an earthquake. Brand new house. I can sometimes hear my neighbor next door walking (townhouse). Never had these problems in my condo.
Yup! I have had anxiety moving in to my new home with two stories. I start to wonder if our furniture is too heavy for the second-floor why I can hear my daughters footsteps and then I just start to freak out😅
Our house was built in the 1800's and it does the shaking thing. I always assumed it was just because it was super old but with our floor plan what you said actually makes sense. Thank you for the peace of mind.
Omg I feel a great relief!!!! We build a second livingroom in our double ceiling house. The second flor wobbles or moves when we walk on it! Everything was up to code, I was there during construction so I saw the beams, the supports the super thick plywood, so I knew it was safe but I had a mini hearth attack every time my son jumped on the sofa or if my husband used the treadmill! Thank you for your video!! It was very reassuring!!
I recently moved to the top floor of a new build 3 story apartments. We have an open floor living and the floor in the middle shakes when we walk by, but not only that, it shakes when my downstair neighbours walk! Is it also because of floor deflection and normal? It's driving me nut whenever I feel the bounce from downstair... I bought this place and have a warranty with the builder till the end of this year, wonder if it's something that I need to raise with them further. Thanks for the video again, it was very very informative!! Thanks a lot!
This helps my anxiety a bit. Got my first 2 story home , it’s a 1994 and my bathroom feels wobbly.it’s right above the kitchen. I haven’t moved in yet and I already want it gutted to make sure it’s safe☹️ I seriously go in and run out.
Hi Ana- More than likely everything is fine, however if you’re still nervous you could always have it looked at by a home inspector, carpenter, or structural engineer.
We've been in our new "custom" home for two months. Open floor plan in the living area and kitchen/dining. The deflection at the island is driving me crazy. To the point I'm concerned about having holiday gatherings. The living room has some too but the island area keeps me up at night. My family moved from a 50 yr old ranch house that had plenty of support poles in the basement. Little to no deflection. I'm not liking my current setup. Plans called for an engineered flooring system. Builder went with 11 7/8" 40x I-joists, 16" OC.
Well, this could be a lot of work, depending on what electrical, plumbing, and HVAC are in that area, you could try wrapping the joist in three-quarter inch plywood on both sides that should stiffen that area up and make it less bouncy.
This is very useful info. Thank you for making this video. I have an area in my house that has a piano the living room side and fridge and row of cabinets the kitchen side of the wall. I’m kinda paranoid it’s too much weight in one area. Do you think I need to get that spot fortified somehow?
Sorry for the delayed response Marilyn. It’s hard to say without seeing it. If you have a basement underneath this area I would look to see if the floor joists are sitting on a supporting steel beam or some supporting structure. If that’s the case that area will be more structurally sound then if this area is in the middle of the floor joist which is its weakest point. In my 25 year career I’ve only seen one house that had a safe that was so large that it actually cracked the floor joists below it. With that said more than likely I’m going to say your OK, however I would have a carpenter come in and assess the situation for peace of mind.
Thank you for this video! I have about a 25 year old house, well taken care of that we moved into a few years ago. Home inspector said it was the best taken care of home he’s seen in a long time. Problem is - the whole dang thing rattles when we walk or run around. The bounce in our main floor drives me nuts especially with the one year old and five year old always running and jumping. This helped my anxiety. Two questions - if the basement is finished below there’s probably no way to address the bouncing? And secondly, more to help my anxiety, it’s not dangerous right? I feel like if it was you would notice some cracks or damage. My husband has assured me all is fine :)
My pleasure! If the basement is finished, correct, you would have to open up the ceiling and stiffen up the floor joists to minimize the bounce, which would be very invasive. Yes, it’s a normal, and yes, your husband is right, because he always is! 😉🤣
I have it on my list to make a video explaining how to reduce the bounce, however I haven’t made it yet because I don’t have access to a house under construction at this time. However, this article will give you four options www.thisoldhouse.com/flooring/21015298/bye-bye-bounce Hope this help!!
Thank you. You have explained very well the root cause of the vibration or shaking while walking by my island. But here I am expecting some sort of solution that you would recommend, or any DIY , some references you know about solutions.
Thank you for the compliment! Yeah, sorry a lot of other people said the same thing. Unfortunately, the solution is not a simple do it yourself. You’ll need to get a good Carpenter involved to assess the situation, as there is a few different ways to fix it. I recommend calling your local Carpenter to come out and take a look at it.
What about building a house with concrete? People in the US will say it would be too expensive. But almost whole Europe has concrete floors. Only old buildings and houses (like 100 years old) have wooden floors/joist.
Yeah absolutely anything can be done, just be at what cost. Here in United States apartment, condominium, and commercial buildings typically are constructed out of precast concrete which is similar to how they build in other countries such as Europe.
I moved into a brand new 41 story high rise on the 11th floor. First person to live here. It was built in 2018. And first two years was fine. Then I started seeing curtains move or glass of water trembling when I walked and I freaked out 😩 super was no help. So I worry all the time.
Hi BJ, just found your video, very informative! what are the implications if the columns under the beams are undersized? I live in an old Victorian house where a loadbearing wall was removed to open the living and dining space, so the floor above (bedroom) bounces and shakes. We've been told the beam is fine, the columns are undersized and that the construction overall should be safe. Thanks for any thoughts
I recently moved into a new three story town house and the living room is on the second floor and has a similar size to the one you’re showing. Living room has carpet and I can feel the floor deflection which has been driving me crazy. The room is currently empty and I think the subfloor is creaking as well. No cracks in the ceiling below it on the first floor. Do you think I’m worrying for nothing? Also thanks for the video. Most descriptive one I can find on the topic.
Yeah it sounds like normal floor deflection. The ceiling below it on the first floor with it being a new build the seams might crack, however that’s normal. You would just want to keep an eye out for large jagged cracks. Being that you bought new construction your builder should offer you some type of warranty should there be an issue that’s not seen at this time.
Everything be rattling on our island in our new house when we walk around, it's driving me nuts. We have an unfinished basement below as well, is there anything we can do to fix/alleviate some of this bounce while it's still unfinished?
We moved into a condo build in 1995 with the joists at 21 on center. I have been a wreck worried about everything. Its that tgi as well. We have the open concept as well. You have helped settle my nerves. I worry about the joists being 21 on center instead of 16 on center. Does this seem ok? Can you do anything to minimize the vibrations?
I guess in theory it’s possible because the columns that support the I-beams are on a footing below the slab, so there could be some vibration transfer.
Hi, I live in Europe, in a 1960 concrete building :) the living room is quite large and spacious and when I walk, especially on a few corners I feel a vibration!! It’s a 180m2 duplex apartment and the living room is the only place where the vibration occurs! When my son walks heavily, I can feel the vibration even more! It’s scary! Do you think it’s dangerous? It’s a 4 floor building, we are in the upper ones
Have a very obvious wobble in the floor going into my bathroom, which tilts the plastic cabinet away from the walk and knocks back into the wall, pretty annoying. I have a crawl space though, and don't want to pull out the fiberglass insulation to do any work from the underside. Are these my only options? Pulling up the subfloor (garbage mdf) and cross brace with 2x4. Or just adding another 1/2" layer of ply or something to the entire bathroom?
Hi Swiss- I hate to say it, but the best way to correct the situation is to come from the underside. By add more joists, wrapping the current ones in three-quarter inch plywood, or build a small wall in the middle of that bathroom stiffening up your current floor system.
@@BJPoznecki The joist is about 12" from the wall and the wheels on the cabinet are about 14"-15", so I think I'll just get a different cabinet with less depth and avoid the stress. Thank you.
Yeah, all good. There’s a strong chance the floor joists span the entire width of the garage, which if it’s a two car garage is usually about 20 feet wide. So, if there’s no steel I-beam in the middle adding support you will get some flex around the center area.
Sorry Marcia I don’t know I’m a Chicago guy. I know they have different building practices out there in California because of the earthquakes. You would have to reach out to somebody local that knows how they build out there.
Yes, correct you can add additional supports, double up the joists, or wrap the joists currently in place with three-quarter inch plywood which essentially doubles them up.
@@BJPoznecki I am staying in a demountable in a caravan park, on bricks with sand below. I can feel the neighbours demountable shake my unit. Is it because the vibrations shake the sand?
Hi Rob- Yes, sistering or ripping down three-quarter inch plywood and nailing it to both sides staggering your seams to stiffen up the joist would work as well.
i’ve been super paranoid about this in my new home. so my extended family is 11 people and in total we have 14 people over and sometimes they have dance parties where the floor deflects and it’s rlly fucking scary. should i be concerned?
i live in a top floor condo and my floor vibrates even from people walking below wouldn floating floor fix this i cant fix from below because its not my unit below there
Hi Ryan- No, unfortunately you have to stiffen the floor framing. Now if you’re having an issue where the sound transfers when you walk on the floor and your neighbors below you hear you walking around. What you could do is install a 1/4” or thicker cork board underlayment before you install a hard surface floor. That would help minimize the sound transfer into the unit below you.
@@BJPozneckihi bj - now if i installed green glue to my sub floor then added another layer of osb to sandwhich it , would this reduce vibrations felt when someone else is walking on floor?
@@Ryan-kz7ej Hey Ryan- It’s hard to say because it’s not your subfloor that is flexing it’s the supporting lumber underneath it that flexes and creates the bounce or vibration. Now in theory it may help a little bit and when I say that I’m thinking about a tiled bathroom. Typically you have your subfloor throughout that whole floor, and then when you tile a surface you install half-inch Dura rock or plywood to strengthen the area to minimize cracking tiles and grout. So, it may help, but I can’t give you a confirmation that will solve your problem. Hope that helps!
You can do a few different things this article below will walk you through four different options that are the best to go away. www.thisoldhouse.com/flooring/21015298/bye-bye-bounce
@@BJPoznecki add rows of staggard solid blocking between joists to reduce or eliminate deflection in floor. Regardless of meeting code, no one wants rattling of objects in the room above when walking through room.
@@TheNewenglandboys Yes, you’re correct! As well as sistering, bridging, scabbing 3/4” on both sides, there are a few options to minimize the bounce. The premise of this video is because the builder I used to work for had a lot of customers that came from India where they build the whole house out of concrete. The floors, walls, ceilings are all concrete. Then, they move here to the United States and live in an apartment building where the floors are precast concrete, to where they never experienced a lumber built floor, any deflection, or sound transfer. Plus, these mass production homebuilders here in the US if it passes inspection and they get a certificate of occupancy they’re not gonna go back and modify the floor like you or I would.
@@BJPoznecki Thats true. Their motto seems to be take the money and get out of Dodge as they say. Once their paid, its the purchasers problem. But it would be good for the unknowing victim (buyer) to know there is a solution and how to remedy the problem. Those open concept homes are expensive enough.
@@TheNewenglandboys Unfortunately you’re right. It’s very disheartening what I’ve seen in the quality of workmanship as well as how they treat their customers after getting paid. Thank you for the feedback, conversation, and video idea. I added making a floor deflection solution video to my list. Wishing you and the family a happy holiday season! 🦃🎄
