Within the familiar space of your home, a slightly shaky floor might seem like no more than a minor inconvenience. You might even liken the sensation to walking on Moon Shoes. However, bouncy floors inside your home aren’t just an annoyance – they could indicate serious issues affecting your home’s structural integrity.
Once you begin to feel like the ground underfoot isn’t as solid as it should be, it’s vital to seek the help of a professional. Ohio Basement Systems is a respected local authority in foundation repair, basement waterproofing, crawl space repair and encapsulation, and concrete lifting services.
Our team is dedicated to helping homeowners across Greater Cleveland and Northern Ohio, delivering dependable and long-lasting solutions to crawl space problems like bouncy floors.
Discover more about this common issue and how our experienced team can help safeguard your home.
Bouncy Floors: A Common but Serious Concern
It’s not rare to feel a slight bounce as you move across the floors of your home, especially if it’s an older property. Many homeowners dismiss this, seeing it as a minor aesthetic or mobility issue. However, bouncy floors can be an indicator of significant structural problems and potential safety hazards.
Floors that feel bouncy and sagging often reveal underlying problems such as weakened joists or support beams. If these problems aren’t addressed, they can deteriorate over time, leading to substantial damage and potentially high repair costs.
Underlying Causes of Bouncy Floors
A variety of factors can contribute to structural issues like bouncy floors, including:
- Over Spanned Joists: The joists supporting the floor above your crawl space can become over spanned if they are too widely spaced or excessively long for their depth. This improper spacing can make the joists bounce or flex excessively.
- Lack of Proper Support: If floor supports like posts or beams are incorrectly installed or have shifted, they might fail to provide necessary support, resulting in bouncy floors.
- Weakened Joists: Over the years, wooden floor joists can lose their strength due to excessive moisture, wood rot, pest infestation and damage, or general wear and tear.
Solutions for Bouncy Floors
While bouncy floors are a common issue, every home is unique and requires more than a generic solution.
The level of damage and its cause will determine the precise repair your bouncy floors need. Possible solutions could include:
- Additional supports
- Joist replacement
- Crawl space support posts
- Crawl space drainage and sump pumps
- Encapsulation with a vapor barrier
- Dehumidification
To accurately determine your crawl space’s needs, it’s important to enlist a professional to assess your home and recommend the optimal solution.
Trust Ohio Basement Systems to Resolve Your Bouncy Floor Issues
Bouncy floors can risk your home’s comfort and safety. Don’t put your loved ones in danger. Seek out professional help to repair and safeguard your home today.
With a wealth of experience and expertise, the Ohio Basement Systems team can diagnose and rectify your bouncy floor issues. Get in touch with us to schedule a free inspection and estimate. As part of the respected Groundworks family of companies, you can trust us to deliver top-notch service backed by industry-leading expertise and reliability.
FAQ: Bouncy Floors
Tackling issues like uneven, bouncy floors alone is not the best course of action for a permanent repair solution. Most crawl spaces are tight areas with problems like pests and mold that threaten your health and safety. Other issues can also arise, so it’s best to hire a crawl space repair professional with the right tools, training, and experience.
Uneven floors can collapse if left to deteriorate over time. However, there are many warning signs that you should be able to spot before this happens. These include flooring that feels soft and springy underfoot, visible sagging and unevenness, tripping hazards, gaps between the floor and walls, and spreading floor cracks. The sooner you notice these problems and have them professionally inspected and repaired, the safer your home will be for your family.
The cost of bouncy floor repairs can vary greatly. Some factors that impact the price of your overall project include the extent of damage, type of repair used, labor, materials, and whether other repairs – like crawl space encapsulation – are also needed. For an accurate breakdown of the cost, contact our team for a free inspection and estimate.
