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Common Issues
Sloping Floors

BAY Crawl Space & Foundation Repair Helps Provide Safe & Healthy Homes

Fix Sloping Uneven Floors

Many homeowners in Norfolk, Virginia & surrounding areas have become concerned about sloping or uneven floors. It may start with visible cracks in the walls, when interior doors stick while opening or closing, or when there is a noticeable sag in the floors. These conditions are usually a sign of a more serious problem, such as wood rot in the floor joists, a sinking foundation, or crawl space structural problems.

A sagging floor can also occur when floor support beams or a load-bearing girder experiences water damage. If the homeowner does not address the issue, the home could experience more costly issues, including foundation cracks, drywall cracks, sloping floors, and damage to the home’s foundation.

Failing to address crawl space problems and foundation cracks may result in more cosmetic damage to interior finishes along with structural problems that can cause cracks in drywall and tile floors. If you are looking to fix sloping, uneven floors in your Hampton Roads, Virginia home, speak with an expert at BAY Crawl Space & Foundation Repair for effective solutions to this serious issue.

What Causes Uneven, Sloping Floors?

Our foundation repair experts who fix sloping, uneven floors have seen just about every possible sagging floor issue. These include foundation problems, crawlspace moisture, wood rot, and a lack of crawl space waterproofing.

Typically, a sagging floor is not a floor issue but can be caused by a lack of waterproofing or other problems. It may even start with the home’s landscaping and drainage systems. Excessive water collecting around the home’s foundation can seep under concrete slabs and even travel across vapor barriers.

Once the home’s structural elements experience wood rot and/or water damage, the interior floors and walls will suffer. The bottom line is that water leaking under the house can lead to structural issues like cracks in the floor joists, rotting floor girders, or the subfloor.

Another reason why your floor may be sloping is sinking or sagging floor supports. Once the floor supports begin to sink, the floors can become sloped and uneven.

In homes with a crawlspace, the outside walls are supported on a continuous footing along the perimeter of the home, and the inside walls are supported on footings and piers, which support beams, floor joists, and the subfloor. One or more of these building components can lead to uneven floors. If you have sinking and uneven floors, your floor support may be inadequate.

Here are some of the more common causes of crawl space and foundation issues that can lead to sagging, sloping, or uneven floors:

  • Water damage
  • Crawl space moisture
  • Foundation problems
  • Joists or beams could be rotten
  • Poor landscape drainage
  • Structure problems
  • Mold or termite infestation
  • Ground movement
  • Damaged vapor barrier
  • Damp joists or beams could be crushed under the weight of the home, aka compression

What Are the Risks of Sloping Floors?

There are risks associated with sloping or uneven floors in your house.

Trip and Fall Hazards

Serious injury can occur when a person trips due to their foot catching on a floor area that is at a higher level than expected. These types of trip and fall accidents can easily happen when a home has uneven floor levels caused by excess moisture attacking the subfloor.

Damage to Home’s Structure

Structural damage to a home’s foundation can cause the home to sink into the ground or cause crawl space moisture. The result is weakened support beams, foundation cracks, and damage to surrounding areas, resulting in a sagging floor.

Damage to the Flooring Materials

Water entering through the home’s crawlspace or cracks caused by foundation problems will eventually make its way into the home subfloor and flooring material. The result can be floors that sag, feel soft under your feet, or buckling/cupping floors.

How Can Uneven Floors Be Fixed?

A sagging floor, crawl space moisture, and foundation problems are signs of a problem with the home’s structure. The best repair solutions can be found when you partner with a company that specializes in foundation repair services, the stabilization of floor support beams, and crawl space waterproofing.

The first thing any homeowner should do is inspect the home’s landscape drainage systems to see if water is ponding around the foundation. Next, the homeowner should check the home’s basement or crawl space for any damage to or a missing vapor barrier. This is the polyurethane sheeting around a crawlspace or basement to prevent moisture from penetrating the walls or floor.

Repair solutions to a home’s subfloor are typically determined by an inspection from a company like BAY Crawl Space & Foundation Repair. If the problem is rotted support beams, failed vapor barriers, or a lack of waterproofing, then BAY Crawl Space & Foundation Repair can offer various repair solutions, including:

Fix the Moisture Problem

Our foundation repair services are designed to locate and fix any moisture problems affecting the home’s structure. This may include advising the homeowner about changing the landscape contour or improving drainage systems.

If the home has a crawl space, our repair experts can inspect the walls and lower-level support beams for signs of moisture. If the crawl space has a lot of moisture, mildew, or mold, then any issue with the foundation must be located and repaired.

Add Drainage Systems

Improvements to the home’s drainage system might include the installation of a French drain around the home and/or a sump pump at the low points to prevent standing water around the foundation.

A professional would need to fix or replace floor drains and drain pipes that are clogged or cracked. A foundation drain system attracts and funnels away groundwater and excessive water due to melting snow or frequent and torrential rainfall in the soil.

Crawl Space Encapsulation

The reasons for crawl space moisture and dampness can range from living in a humid climate to an underground pipe that is leaking or simply the saturated soil from groundwater keeping the crawlspace moist.

Crawl space encapsulation is a type of heavy-duty vapor barrier that covers the crawl space floors and walls, along with insulation of the walls, sealed foundation vents, and a crawl space dehumidifier. A crawl space repair that seals the area completely can reduce your heating and cooling bills. It can also remove musty smells and stop further water and structural damage while reducing mold growth and damage from pests.

Jacks to Add Structural Support

Often, water damage will leave a home with a weakened structural support system. Professional foundation repair services will offer home stabilization options such as foundation jacks and additional support beams.

Foundation jacks provide additional support when placed underneath floor support beams. They are used to not only stabilize your home’s crawl space but also to re-level and support sagging floor joists.

Each floor jack must be installed on top of a strong new foundation support footing. When installing foundation jacks, a new hole must be dug, and the foundation footing must be installed with either concrete or steel and engineered to support the necessary weight.

Structural Repairs

structural beam replacement can fix a sagging floor, especially when the wood has rotted or become too weak to provide good support. Other parts of the home that may require structural repair include the replacement of multiple support beams or floor joists for better floor stabilization.

Foundation Repairs

When you notice signs of settlement, you should call for residential foundation repair services to fix your sloping, uneven floors. If the home’s support beams and foundation have weakened, foundation repair may include stabilizing the foundation using foundation push piers or an engineered underpinning solution.

Each foundation repair will depend on the type of foundation and the types of issues you have. If the foundation is not sunken, then the repair may only include fixing cracks in the foundation or replacing crumbled concrete are repaired or replaced.

Why Choose BAY to Fix Your Sloping Uneven Floors?

BAY Crawl Space & Foundation Repair is your one-stop solution to fix sloping uneven floors 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 methods to fix sloping, uneven floors 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