Q: I have an older home with a crawl-space foundation. My problem is the floors sag in the living room to the point where it’s hard to keep a lamp steady on the end tables. My other problem is there ...

Q: I have an older home with a crawlspace foundation. My problem is the floors sag in the living room to the point where it's hard to keep a lamp steady on the end tables. My other problem is there is ...

Q. I'm getting ready to build a large room addition that needs a beam to support the floor joists. I've been told that a wood beam will work, but I've always seen steel I-beams in other houses. Is it ...

Many renovated buildings replace wood and masonry structural elements with steel. The replacement of heavy wooden roof and floor joists with the lighter steel open-web bar-truss joists is a common ...

Q: I’m getting ready to build a large room addition that needs a beam to support the floor joists. I’ve been told that a wood beam will work, but I’ve always seen steel I-beams in other houses. Is it ...

Q. I have a floor that has a broken joist under the house. The floor has caved in. How much will it cost to fix? The floor is wood. A. You definitely want to contact a general contractor or handyman ...

Q.The carpenter that built my deck used joist hangers to hold up the joists along the house and at the end of the deck. Are these steel joist hangers approved, and will they stand the test of time?

Editor’s note: Welcome to the second installment of This Ugly House, a reader renovation diary. We’re excited to publish this tale of a hands-on renovation of a wood-frame house in Bed Stuy. See the ...