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Buckled Wood Flooring

How Neglecting a Crawlspace Impacts Indoor Flooring

While it’s not the most pleasant place to hang out, the crawlspace under your home may provide answers as to why you have cracked tiles, bouncy, creaky and/or sagging floors inside your home.

Here’s how and why a neglected crawlspace causes damage to your flooring.

Crawlspace Inspections

When checking out your crawlspace, it’s not hard to find problems with moisture, humidity, inadequate venting, vapor barrier or air circulation.

However, one of the most overlooked but important areas to check are the supports and crawlspace ceiling joists for signs of weakness, mold, and damage.

Crawlspace Issues Leading to Indoor Flooring Damage

There are a number of reasons why joists and support beams in the crawlspace cause damage inside.

  • Inadequate number of support beams or poor joist spacing
  • Shifting and settling
    Settling of support beams under your home, especially if built on clay soil, consistently expand with excess water and contract when dry. Shifting soil causes support piers or posts to move enough to cause the floor joists to sag, which in turn causes damage and sagging to interior floors.
  • Old beams that simply fail over time due to exposure to the elements.

Potential Interior Damage from a Crawlspace

Damage may include noticeable gaps or spaces in the flooring itself, around the baseboards or the area from the floor to the wall.

Uneven floors cause hazards such as tripping or other injury, overall safety and structural integrity, and a decrease in home value.

Because support beams in the crawlspace tend to hold up better around its perimeter, you’ll notice floors sagging more in the middle areas of your home.

Along with damage to your floors, excessive moisture in the crawlspace also results in unpleasant odors, higher energy bills, humidity issues inside the home and dangerous exposure to mold.

Crawlspace Solutions to Prevent Future Damage

For starters, here are some things to consider for prevention of further damage caused by inferior crawlspace support:

  • Repair or replace damaged joists and support beams
  • Add additional joists to crawlspace ceiling to provide more support for interior floors
  • Encapsulate a dirt floor to control excessive humidity, moisture, and water
  • Add or replace a vapor barrier
  • Improve venting, air flow and circulation in crawlspace

Conclusion

Don’t put off needed repairs to the structural support located in your crawlspace before the rainy season hits.

For more solutions to address the damage, moisture, and mold issues that wrecked or compromised the floors and overall support of your home, don’t delay in calling RCS for a thorough crawlspace inspection, cleanup and safety plan.