Sagging Floor On Second Story

How can we evaluate whether the floors need reinforcement and if so what is the best way to do this.

Sagging floor on second story.

There are several problems that can cause a sagging or sloping floor which is one of the reasons why fixing a sloping floor is difficult. Water damaged or structurally damaged first floor joists causing the joists to deflect or sag. To prevent the collapse of your second story or injury from falling through a rotten floor you must repair the joists as soon as possible. Fixing squeaky floors can cost anywhere from 200 to 1 000 or more.

Although most floors slope it is important to know how much and why. 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. Not all floor problems are the same. The other category describes floors that might generally be level from end to end but within that span may have sags or dips.

This could be a sign of serious structural damage due to foundation settlement. One category describes floors that have a general overall slant. With unfinished basements it s easy to fix the problem from underneath but second story floors aren t easy to access. The first and second floors in our house seem overly bouncy and sag toward the middle.

Use screws shims or shank nails to penetrate through the subfloor and hold the squeaking plank in place. Load bearing wall removed or altered on first floor. Depending upon the conditions it is possible to strengthen or repair existing framing members such as floor joists or roof rafters by adding reinforcing material sandwiching the member on either side with plywood is sometimes worthwhile but the plywood must be installed correctly for greatest strength. Again this could be a sign of dry rotted second floor joists.

Termites can rot or damage the joists typically made of wood rendering the pieces unable to hold up the floor. Sagging floors are often the symptoms of structural damage to the floor joists below the surface. How much you pay will depend on what s causing the floor to sag type of flooring concrete hardwood etc and how many square feet of floor is involved. Sloping to one direction.

Isolated to first floor isolated to second floor both floors. It all depends on accessibility. If the floor is sagging visibly in the middle or is very bouncy you may want to reinforce the floor to eliminate the sag and reduce the bounciness. The average hourly cost for floor repairs is between 75 and 125 for the labor alone.

If a load bearing wall is removed on the first floor then the second story floor joist or trusses may drop down in the area where the load bearing wall was removed. Foundation issues deteriorating wood supports especially sills which rest on the foundation footer improperly installed joists or sub floors and other issues can all cause a floor to slope or sag.