Foundation Repair Photo Album: Supporting Sagging Floors

Over time, the floors of a home might begin to sag. This is because the supports that hold up the floor are degrading for one reason or another.    Things like moisture and rot can damage the wooden beams that support the floor, while settling soil can disrupt the brick or wooden columns that hold up the beams. When either of these (or both of them) occur it can cause the floors of the home above to sag and even become bouncy. Given long enough, this can cause serious damage to the home.   There are many methods for repairing sagging floors, but not all of them offer a permanent solution. One option is called shimming. Shimming involves temporarily lifting the wooden beam and adding additional wooden "shims" to the support column. Finaly the beam is lowered back onto these shims. This does not permanently fix the problem as it does nothing to address rotting beams or settling soils.    A good option for supporting sagging floors is to use metal jack posts. Jack posts can be adjusted to raise the floor to level and, because they're made of metal, won't rot or grow moldy. When installing jack posts, it is also important to create a deep and wide support for the post so that the weight it holds gets evenly distributed and the post does not settle further into the soil like the old columns might have. These posts will add strength to the weakening sections of the floor and prevent more sagging.   Once the jack posts are installed, the floor can be raised back to level and be supported so that it doesn't sag again.