Old House Sagging Floors

By andrew grace issue 286 oct nov 2019.

Old house 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. You ll find sagging floors primarily on poorly constructed homes raised framed foundations or on homes built before the late 1940s post war boom. Minor workarounds are possible such as leveling individual elements within the floor tables armoires cabinets etc.

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. Major support beams within this perimeter though are often supported by makeshift posts. When to call a professional few floor specialists deal only with this type of problem.

What causes floors to sag in older homes typically floors settle near the center of the house because the perimeter walls are constructed over a sound deep foundation and settle very little. How to inspect your home when your floors are sloping. 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.

Old houses often have floors that are less than perfect. The sagging floor was the symptom and somewhere under the house there had to be a cause.