When walking through your home, do you notice the floors seem to creak or bend under your steps? Maybe the glasses in the cabinet rattle when you walk by, or the floor lamp wobbles slightly as you pass. If so, it’s a sign that your crawl space floor joists need additional support.
Over spanned floor joists refer to floor joists that have been spaced too far apart from each other, hence the name “over spanned.”
Why Are My Floor Joists Over Spanned?
Floor joists work alongside support beams in your crawl space to sustain the weight of your home and all that live within it. If a floor joist becomes weak, it can cause major problems for your entire home and foundation.
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There are two primary reasons a floor joist may become over spanned. Poor installation and moisture levels.
Poor Installation
Normally, floor joists transfer the weight of your home to the support beams. Then, the support beams transfer the weight of your home to the foundation itself. When floor joists are not spaced close enough together, they cannot transfer the weight of your home properly to the other structural supports below your crawl space.
When the floor joists do not distribute weight properly, they become stressed under the weight of your home and the floors begin to sag. If you have noticed saggy or bouncy floors in your home, it is worth checking your crawl space to see if the floor joists are spaced too widely. Don’t worry there are solutions to this problem.
Contending With Moisture
In other instances, floor joists may have been spaced fine originally but become damaged from high crawl space humidity. High amounts of moisture can lead to wood rot – a process that breaks down wooden supports below your home.
If floor joists or support beams suffer from wood rot, they won’t be able to support the weight of your home properly. Once again, the cycle of weight distribution is interrupted again. Bouncy and creaky floors may be a sign of wood rot in your crawl space. Other things that might indicate this symptom include high energy bills, as increased moisture levels can cause your air conditioning to work on overdrive. Once again, there is a solution to this issue.
Can I Fix Over Spanned Floor Joists?
Thankfully, Alpha Foundations has the solution to over spanned floor joists. You might be tempted to try DIY solutions, but even the handiest homeowners can’t prevent high moisture levels or engineering errors.
The Problem with DIY Solutions
DIY solutions fail to solve the main issues when it comes to over spanned floor joists:
- High moisture
- Poor weight distribution
Even if you add homemade supports to your floor joists, the materials usually won’t last very long. Plus, they must be installed precisely to have any real effect on the distribution of weight. The same goes for moisture control measures such as vapor barrier or dehumidifiers. Most products are not powerful enough to solve moisture issues completely.
You’ll waste valuable time and money attempting to fix over spanned floor joists on your own. Instead, reaching out to a professional can solve the problem quickly, and the solution will last for a very long time.
Professional Options
At Alpha Foundations, we use the SettleStop IntelliJack crawl space stabilizing system to protect your floor joists from collapse. These steel support rods can support up to 24,000 pounds and lift your sagging floors back to their original position. Whether your floor joists are improperly spaced or suffering from wood rot, the SettleStop IntelliJack support posts are guaranteed to keep your home supported.
Your over spanned floor joists are a safety problem. If left alone the floors will eventually fail; you can just imagine the mess and stress that comes with a collapsed floor. Give Alpha Foundations a call at 850-446-6562 and request your free crawl space evaluation. We’ll confirm if you have sagging floor joists and work with you to create the best solution for your home no matter the issue.
OUR CRAWL SPACE EXPERTS ARE HERE TO HELP
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