I just purchased a home (built in the early 70s) and I'm working on demoing the basement. I had a chance to peek above the drywall in the ceiling, and I'm noticing some oddities with the joists. The previous owners assured me there were no structural integrity issues, though they did mention some past pest problems they dealt with. I'm curious about the joist setup—why do they look like this, and why is one of them cut? By the way, when I was cutting the drywall, a dead mouse fell down, which was quite the surprise! Here's a link to the photos I'm referencing: https://imgur.com/a/taO9iSy.
3 Answers
From what I can see in the photos, it looks like you’re observing the ends of some joists. They often meet and slightly overlap over a central beam, which is completely normal. The notched joist may seem concerning, but it's typically fine as long as it’s notched after the supporting beam. Overall, nothing in your setup looks alarming to me.
Honestly, looks pretty standard! If it resembles my place, I'd suggest just patching things up and moving on. Sometimes, not knowing too much is better—out of sight, out of mind! ?
It seems normal to me! The split you’re seeing could be part of a multi-ply beam, which most likely spans your home’s width. That’s where the front and back joists come together, so it should provide adequate support.