That job in the old Portland bungalow where the floor joists were all wrong

Jake Owens · 2026-03-23T06:25:06.587438+00:00

Took a call for a bathroom remodel on a 1920s house, and when I pulled up the subfloor, I found the original joists were sistered with 2x4s instead of 2x8s. The whole floor had a 3/4 inch dip over 4 feet. Spent two full days with my partner Tom just getting the structure right before we could even think about tile. Anyone else run into weird historical fixes that took way longer than the quote covered?

adam7516mo ago

Oh man, that reminds me of finding a load-bearing wall just nailed into the floorboards, no bottom plate at all. You never know what you're walking into with these old places. It's why my estimates have a big "historical surprise" line item now.

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thomasm156mo ago

Always budget extra time for the ghosts of DIY past.

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wadekim6mo ago

Holy cow, sistered with 2x4s? That's a wild fix. Makes @adam751's story about the wall with no bottom plate sound almost normal. A 3/4 inch dip is no joke, no wonder it blew your schedule.

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