I have a ranch house that's floor is high in the center and falls off in all directions, approximately 12 feet from center to front door or back door it drops about 2-2.5 inches center to ends. I also have a cantilevered house so raising the edge of the flooring above the foundation isn't a good option. I would prefer to not rip out all of my subfloor and sister in joists. The question that I have is could I support the main beam in the house, put in a new steel support post, remove temporary supports and slowly lower the beam down maybe 1/8" at a time until it is eiter level or at least closer to being level? I haven't really heard of people doing this, I know if the center was low I could raise it but I am hoping to do the opposite.

Thoughts?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ajkochuiuc,

A job like this really should have someone that knows what there looking take a look at the whole big picture.
2-1/2" is a lot of fall so something has to have happened to have caused it.
When doing anything like this every action will have an opposite reaction and equal reaction so there's many factors that will need concideration.
Is the home on a full basement, crawl space.
Does it look like someone at sometime installed differant piers or some form of jacks under that beam that was not original?
What condition is the foundation in?
Has anyone ever done a insect infestation inspection.

Have any picture of under the house?

drought compaction of the soil and foundation settling are big these days. that one's not a cheap fix by any means. you need a pro on-site to look everything over. it's not just building without knowing what a wood crown is.