Common reasons for sloping or sagging second story floors.
Sagging floor on second story.
On average nationwide repairing a sagging floor costs between 1 000 and 10 000.
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.
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.
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 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.
Termites can rot or damage the joists typically made of wood rendering the pieces unable to hold up the floor.
Sloping to one direction.
Although most floors slope it is important to know how much and why.
This could be a sign of serious structural damage due to foundation settlement.
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.
Fixing squeaky floors can cost anywhere from 200 to 1 000 or more.
Thre ways to fix a sagging or sloping floor.
Water damaged or structurally damaged first floor joists causing the joists to deflect or sag.
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.
Load bearing wall removed or altered on first floor.
The average hourly cost for floor repairs is between 75 and 125 for the labor alone.
Again this could be a sign of dry rotted second floor joists.
Sagging floors are often the symptoms of structural damage to the floor joists below the surface.
The other category describes floors that might generally be level from end to end but within that span may have sags or dips.
Not all floor problems are the same.
The first and second floors in our house seem overly bouncy and sag toward the middle.
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.
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.
How can we evaluate whether the floors need reinforcement and if so what is the best way to do this.
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.
