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Sagging Floors Are a Sign of Crawl Space Structural Issues

Have you recently noticed your living room, kitchen, or dining room floors are sinking or sagging? If your first level floors display these symptoms, it is an early indication that your crawl space or foundation has structural problems. You don’t have to start worrying about falling into your crawl space just yet, but this is just the beginning of your structural issues. The crawl space should be inspected and fixed as soon as possible.

mold in crawl space

Crawl Space Structural Sagging

Crawl spaces experience structural sinking or sagging primarily for these three reasons:

  1. Support columns are spaced too far apart
  2. Joists, girders, and posts have been weakened by rot
  3. Weak soil and poor footings cause columns to settle

Telltale Signs of Structural Issues

  • Moist, rotting wood
  • Skewed or unlevel door and window frames
  • Sagging, sloping, or uneven upper-level floors
  • Tilting or sinking crawl space supports
  • Cracks in the interior drywall

Why Does This Happen?

You may be thinking “why my house, what did I do?” It’s likely nothing you have done. Many homeowners are unaware of what is happening under their floors if nothing is causing them any distress. Crawl spaces deteriorate more quickly when humidity and moisture are locked inside. Weather like that of Georgia tends to cause crawl space issues.

When your crawl space does not have a dehumidifier and is not sealed the moisture seeps through your home’s foundation which causes joists and posts to soften and rot. Even homes that have been moisture-proofed can still experience problems. Many homes are just built improperly, with widely-spaced support columns or poor footings that cause the sagging floors. If the builders didn’t compact the soil or test it for supportive qualities, your problem is likely due to poor soil quality and the footings and columns are beginning to sink into the soft soil.

Another possibility is that your supports are brick or concrete and mortar. These are not the most precise structural supports. They are prone to crumbling apart and tilting due to moisture and age. Even if your floors have yet to begin sinking, you might think about replacing them sooner rather than later.

For more information, watch the video from our friends at Groundworks!

The Solution to Crawl Space Support Problems

To fix your support system, installing SmartJack is the best way to go. This heavy-duty system is created with galvanized steel which is resistant to corrosion, so it will last a lifetime. the system will redistribute your home’s weight to level and stabilize.

Let Our Experts Fix Your Sagging Floors

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If you’re looking for crawl space repair experts in the Atlanta, Athens, and Marietta areas, look no further than AquaGuard Foundation Solutions, the premier foundation repair, and waterproofing professionals! Contact us today for a free estimate!

Ted Dryce

Ted Dryce

Content Writer

Ted is an SEO Content Writer who has been with Groundworks since 2021. He’s covered home repair topics ranging from crawl space encapsulation to regional soil conditions. When he’s not working, Ted is performing improv comedy and working on his own creative projects.

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