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Crawl Space Floor Joist Repair

Sagging floors add character to an old house—right? Well, character is one thing. Structural damage to a house, on the other hand, is another layer of problems that should not go unchecked.

Having sagging, moving, or shifting floors may indicate that there’s a bigger problem underneath. It most likely points to an issue with the floor joists that are supporting the floor.

If your floors are sagging, then it might be time to make some repairs. Read on to find out how professionals use joist sistering to repair old or damaged floor joists.

For professional floor joist repair services in the greater Hampton Roads, VA region, learn more about BAY Crawl Space & Foundation Repair at our Home Page, About Us Page, or Request A Quote Page.

Purpose of a Floor Joist

Floor joists are structural members used in the framing of a floor structure to support a space from beam to beam. Most people understand that without floor joists, your floors wouldn’t have any structural support and would eventually collapse from the weight. Not only do they support your floors, but they also carry the weight of the walls, ceilings, furniture, appliances, and the people that walk on them.

Reasons Floor Joists Get Damaged

In residential homes, most floor joists come from natural or engineered wood. These joists are sometimes doubled or even tripled to give extra load capacity depending on where in the house and what the building codes require. So why do they fail sometimes?

There are 3 main reasons for floor joists failing. The first is the loss of integral strength due to crawl space moisture. Oftentimes, crawl spaces contain moisture from exposed damp ground, groundwater flooding, and outside humidity. This dampens and weakens the wood, leading to fungus and wood rot.

Another reason joists fail is due to water damage. If a house has a plumbing leak, it can cause wood to deteriorate more rapidly. And to compound it, if a joist already sags, water will naturally expedite the damage and movement.

The last common reason for floor joist failure is termites. Termite infestations in homes can cause significant damage to the structure of homes, leading to sagging floors.

Signs That a House Might Have Structural Damage

A sagging floor is the biggest telltale sign that there are issues within the structure of your home. Doors that stick or drag on the floor, cracked walls or ceilings, beams that bow, and cracks in the foundation are also signs that can indicate structural damage within a house.

Expert Advice

Depending on how badly your floors are sagging or moving, it’s wise to get the advice of multiple structural experts before going ahead with any repairs. You’ll want advice from foundation repair experts and possibly structural engineers if the problem seems complex. In the case of structural repairs, it’s best to hire a professional with years of experience to do the job.

Professionals Fix Structural Damage With Joist Sistering

Joist sistering is adding an extra identical floor joist to a damaged or inadequate floor joist and tieing the two together with screws or nails. It is a very effective way of adding the additional strength needed to hold up a sagging floor. Let’s take a closer look at how this was accomplished.

Leveling the Floors

Damaged joists usually mean sagging floors—right? Well, to make a floor level again, it needs lifting.

In order to lift a sagging floor, install a screw jack and beam underneath to push the damaged sagging joist(s) up. A screw jack is essentially a metal support post that raises or lowers by the turning of a threaded steel pipe that’s inside of it (hydraulic jacks are often used for this purpose as well).

If there are significant sags in multiple joists spanning the floor, then professionals will use multiple jacks to do the heavy lifting. Holding a 4ft level up to the joists will show how much a floor could need to be jacked up.

Lifting a house always includes the risk of damage. Lifting floor joists can cause cosmetic damage to paint, drywall, flooring, counters, trim, etc. It’s important to lift carefully, but some damage cannot be avoided if the lift is necessary.

Sistering the Joists

To repair floor joists, the damaged joist is sistered together with a new piece of wood. Usually, the new piece of lumber spans the length of the old one. At times when this isn’t possible, shorter pieces are used instead (this is sometimes referred to as scabbing).

When a joist is weight-bearing, meaning it holds up a wall or has extra weight attached to it, it’s sometimes necessary to sister multiple pieces of new material to the old one. This is usually done by “sandwiching” the old joist in the middle of the two new ones. Doing this gives additional support to the joist.

Doing Joist Repairs Yourself

Working on your house yourself can save you money as well as give you a sense of pride and ownership. If you have the tools and the time, you might be tempted to take on the job and try floor joist repair sistering yourself. Below are some issues you might run into along the way.

  • Incorrectly Notching Floor Joists: Maximum notching at the end of the joist cannot exceed 1/4 of the joist depth. Maximum notching in the outer third of the joists is 1/6 of the joist depth, and no notching in the middle third of the joist. Incorrect notching at any length of the board can seriously affect the integrity of a joist.
  • Failing to Level Joists: Leveling a floor is a process that sometimes takes days. This is because jacking up a joist may cause the rest of the house to settle in ways that weren’t expected.
  • Sister Board Not Level: Sistering a new board to an old joist often takes multiple people to hold up in order to get level. Not leveling the new board to the old joist will defeat the purpose of the job.
  • Failure to Properly Secure Boards Together: Not knowing how to secure sistering joists together can cause structural problems in the future.
  • Insufficient Overlapping: Knowing weight loads is important when figuring out how much to over-lap boards. Failure to over-lap boards enough may cause future sagging to reoccur.
    Not Using Enough Support: This happens a lot in the case of load-bearing walls and other unique circumstances when more support is needed to hold up a joist.

Building code for sistering joists is also important to know when making joist repairs. Not knowing these will lead to problems if you ever plan to sell your house. Sometimes, building permits are needed as well.

Other Repairs Needed

Another reason to hire a trusted professional when making joist repairs is that other issues often arise from damaged floor joists. Usually, water damage also occurs in subfloors and floors and sometimes needs replacing.

A professional will spot where moisture is coming from and help prevent future problems from occurring. They will also determine if beams need replacing and/or additional support beams placed.

Length of Time It Takes for Repairs

Jacking up a joist and raising a sagging floor can be a relatively quick process. An expert repair technician will know the size of the board to install and how to perform the repair efficiently.

If lifting the floors more than 1/2″ is your goal, it should should be done over time to avoid damage. Sometimes this means that a screw jack is only raised once or twice a month, moving up only 1/4″ at a time. If your sag is 1″ or 2″, then you can see how this process would take a little longer. Expect new cracks to form on walls and ceilings after they’ve been jacked up.

Call in the Professionals

At BAY, our experts have years of experience in identifying the causes of structural damage within your home. If you have concerns about the integrity of your foundation, we offer free, no-obligation inspections and estimates. When we inspect your home, we explain the problems and solutions and explore multiple options to find the best solution for you.

Why Choose BAY for Your Floor Joist Repair?

BAY Crawl Space & Foundation Repair is your one-stop solution for crawl space encapsulation in Virginia Beach, Newport News, Suffolk, and the surrounding region. Our expert teams have over 400 collective years of experience fixing homes in the Hampton Roads, VA & NC region.

Our staff includes engineering experts, repair specialists, and a full support team ready to deliver exceptional customer service and a fast turnaround of your project. This is why BAY Crawl Space can offer great long-term warranties on the installation and materials for your repair.

You can learn more about BAY’s floor joist repairs by taking advantage of our free crawl space and foundation inspection. Your inspection will give you a much better understanding of the issues at hand, along with your best options for repair.

Contact BAY Crawl Space & Foundation Repair today by filling out our online form or call 757-460-0444 for a free inspection.

About BAY Crawl Space & Foundation Repair

BAY is an award-winning crawl space and foundation repair contractor. We’re proud to service an 80-mile radius around our Norfolk, VA headquarters, Monday to Friday, from 7 am to 5 pm.

BAY is best known for having amazing reviews (quality & quantity), superior expertise, special methods, and affordable pricing options. We have the ‘Best of the Best’ on our team. Our All-Star Team delivers great customer experiences and the best quality for a great price.

Our reputation in the Hampton Roads community is with homeowners, engineers, city permitting offices, home services professionals, and online as a crawl space foundation repair contractor is outstanding.

Reviews Summary & Links

We have ranked #1 for crawl space repair in Hampton Roads for 8 years (Google: 2015-2023), ranked top 5% in the USA with Super Service Awards for 5 years (Angi: 2017-2022), were voted Best of Foundation Repair locally for 6 years (CoVA BIZ 2018-2023), were voted “Best of the Best” nationally in 2020 for the foundation repair category, and won the “Best Places to Work” award (CoVA BIZ).

Customer Reviews

Our Reviews Reflect Our Commitment to Taking Great Care of Our Customers

  • “After shopping companies and getting several bids on the same project, we chose Bay Crawl because of their reputation and price. They had our whole house leveled and stabilized in two days. Left our property cleaner than they found it with a smile on their face. Do NOT plan your next project without getting an estimate from Bay Crawl.”

    – Ryan Simpson

  • “Our experience with Bay was outstanding. From first contact everything was smooth and made as easy as possible for us. We were kept informed every step of the process via email, phone, and text. The work was top-notch. The cost was extremely reasonable. We were impressed that Bay did not try to sell services that weren’t required.”

    – Teresa Lackey

  • “My experience was nothing but the best with Bay Crawl Space. The price was much more affordable than what another company quoted. Scheduling was easy and painless. They were professional and treated my home as if it was their own. They left me feeling very confident in my decision to go with Bay.”

    – Michael Turner

  • “It was an easy decision to choose Bay Crawl Space over the three other estimates I had gotten—not only was the price reasonable based on my research, but Jamie was the only sales advisor who described more than one option that I could choose. The scheduling was very smooth! I am confident that if I have any problems, I can call & they will resolve them.”

    – Diane Taylor

  • “Severe water damage to the structure. We thought we were in real trouble but after talking with them, we felt much better as we were assured that this was “Easy.” Our experience with Bay was better than we have had with any other contractor EVER. Upfront with what to expect, honest in their communications, and fair pricing.“

    – Mike O’Neill

  • “We had our crawlspace encapsulated by BAY three years ago at a fraction of the cost of JES’s estimate. The work was done on time and to exceptional standards. The office has been courteous, the workers arrived on time, and the work was accomplished as promised. BAY gets my highest recommendation.”

    – Bob Essman

  • “I am delighted with the crawl space encapsulation completed by Bay Crawl Space & Foundation Repair. What I particularly appreciate about BAY is their attention to detail & commitment to excellence. They were punctual and very much worth the value. I highly recommend Bay Crawl Space to anyone looking for excellent service & an affordable product.”

    – Leslie Ballard

  • “I’m not one to take home repairs lightly so I try and do my research. I got over 4 estimates to have my crawl space encapsulated and some repair work done. BAY beat the others prices by over 10k. Oh and they actually did more work that what the others quoted us to do. They also do quality work. So value for money, BAY is the company to go with.”

    – Benjamin Alexander

  • “I had an independent civil engineer out to inspect prior to the BAY visit. I was afraid I might be oversold on repairs I didn’t need. This was not the case. BAY made the same observations and gave same explanations or better. Great job BAY on hiring honest and competent assessors. Very professional, will work with you again!”

    – Zachary Frey

  • “I’m super pleased with the work Bay did us, it made a difference almost immediately. Our service advisor, Beau, did an excellent job of identifying the issues in our crawl and offering reasonably priced solutions. The team they sent out to do the work was awesome. They were friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient!”

    – David Green

  • Bay Crawl is by far the number 1 company for all of your crawl space and foundation needs. They are fairly priced. When coupled with the amazing service you receive, its a value that’s unbeatable. Every employee I interacted with was professional, polite, knowledgable, and hard working. You will not deal with a better run company than Bay Crawl.

    – Nicholas Cipriano
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