Why Do I Have Sagging Floors?

What causes sagging floors? Although it typically just looks like a cosmetic problem from above, anyone who gets a look underneath will quickly discern that the problem is almost always a sagging floor joist. These joists can fail for a variety of reasons.

Are you at a loss when it comes to the sagging floors in your home? These are the most prominent reasons for this problem.

Poor Floor Support Design 

The most cut-and-dried reason for sagging floor joists stems simply from poor floor support design. Ideally, the design underneath your home should ensure that the support system holds up each of the floor joists properly.

The problem is, a poor design will make sure the floor joists don’t get enough support. If your floor joists aren’t supported enough, you’ll end up with sagging floor joists and a sagging floor on top of it.

Dealing with poor design requires additions that will restore your home to the proper level. If you’re looking for more regarding how to fix sagging floor problems, a JES expert will be able to discern whether your home simply has design issues.

Home Settlement

A small amount of home settlement happens to many types of homes, even if the soil is properly packed and prepared. The problem arises when the home settles more than it should over time, starting to sink into the ground.

Especially if one side of the home starts to sink more than another side, it can throw off the balance of your existing floor joists. Where the home previously had an acceptable amount of balance, you may start finding cracks and sagging floors as the home begins to settle improperly.

Settlement requires that you stabilize the foundation as a whole. It’s not something you can handle yourself. A JES foundation and crawl space repair expert can give you options when it comes to your home settlement problems.

Crawl Space Moisture

More people deal with a crawl space moisture and humidity problem than they realize. If you have a dirt crawl space, for example, you’re almost certainly dealing with a crawl space that has a very high level of relative humidity, which can be a problem.

As moisture starts to leech into the wooden floor joists, they can start to become more flexible, making it easier for them to bow under the weight of the home above. You can also notice other moisture-related issues, including mold and mildew.

There are many steps to avoiding crawl space moisture. If your sagging floor joists come from crawl space moisture, it’s best to schedule a free inspection from JES to learn more about your potential options.