I am looking to buy a house and in the saveyors report it states that the joist are going the wrong way, the room is 25ft long. Can I use a mid rsj to support the current joist with out having to replace the the whole ceiling. An what would be the likely cost of doing this??

John wood, September 2008

man if that's really the case what else is going on with the house that you don't see. How old is the house?

Colorado Mo, December 2008

How old is this house? Did the builder put the joists in incorrectly or did a previous owner change them round?

Has a supporting wall been knocked down to make two small rooms into one? - a through lounge they sometimes call it. It's usual to support the ceiling (the brick dividing wall upstairs) with a boxed-in RSJ - presumably this has happened without the RSJ being fitted.

If this is the case and there really is an unsupported brick wall upstairs then it could all come tumbling down.

On your own head be it.

Richard Buxton, September 2008