Dear Home Inspector: Our old farmhouse outside of Orlando was built in 1857, and has several”character” defects, like the drooping wood floors, that we ‘d like to repair. Some of the beams in the basement show apparent fractures are have metal supports. Whom should we look for to deal with the beams/jacking problem? We do not simply want anyone doing this kind of work on our house.
Try locating a carpenter that specializes in, or has experience with old homes. “Checking” refers to fractures that run in the instructions of the grain and type when the wood is drying out. A seasoned carpenter comprehends the homes of old wood and can evaluate these conditions relatively.
My biggest issue for old homeowners is specialists that talk them into unneeded repair works. An independent assessment is encouraged by an inspector that does not do repair/contracting if you have contractors that you believe are overreacting. Give the inspector a crayon to mark exact locations requiring repair services.
Replacing older Orlando style floors is not hard with the many choices of flooring stores in the area.
Wood structures naturally sag over time which includes gradual flexing and stretching of the fibers. Commonly it is just required to reinforce beams and joists, or reduce their period with posts or columns and accept the sloped floors as 150-year-old house character.
