Sagging House Floors

Though a sloped floor might indeed bring some character to a house some of the issues that can cause them can lead to other problems down the road.

Sagging house floors.

And not all structural problems are that big a deal. Many older homes have problems with sloping and sagging floors. Well after doing the navy seal crawl up under the house we found that the joists that were supporting that floor were not actually attached to the sill plate any longer as seen in the photograph below. Sagging floors result from failing floor joists in the crawl space underneath your house.

Some are serious structural issues that require the attention of a contractor while others are more routine cosmetic problems that you can solve yourself if you re a fairly advanced do it yourselfer. The average person can sense if a floor slopes 1 inch in 10 feet and sloping floors or sagging floors are often one of the warning signs that structural engineers look for when analyzing a house. Although most floors slope it is important to know how much and why. Even historic houses have saggy sloping floors.

One of the most common complaints of old house owners is sagging floors. Floors out of level windows and doors sticking or not closing properly bouncy floors or floors that sag in spots in a room. If you have a crawl space foundation which is common in the south a sagging floor often means you have a structural problem with your floor joists or beams. Some homeowners when confronted with staggering bills for floor repairs come to terms with their floors.

The sagging floor was the symptom and somewhere under the house there had to be a cause. There are lots of clues that indicate structural problems in a house. Old houses often have floors that are less than perfect. These problems can result from open crawl space vents or doors excessive moisture and humidity and wet rotting wood.

Minor workarounds are possible such as leveling individual elements within the floor tables armoires cabinets etc. In my own house for example every floor pitches toward the center stairwell. I can tell that without even seeing it from the description. Although generally only an annoyance sagging floors can be an indication of worsening problems.

Fixing a sagging floor requires patience and construction experience but it can be done. Over time the dirt your house sits atop can compact causing the foundation to sink. That house has a structural problem. Here s a quick review of the most common problems and a few of the typical remedies.

Foundation repairs are the most expensive reason for sagging floors in old houses.