Bouncy Floors

We have relatively bouncy, uneven floors on the top floor of our three-story woodframe home. What are our options for having the issue explored? What type of service would we hire to get a possible diagnosis of the problem (general contractor? flooring specialist? structural engineer?)? What signs should we look for regarding any serious problems? I can handle the unevenness as just a part of living in an older home, but don’t want to miss any important structural issues. Ultimately we would like to carpet this entire floor as our children will move up to the third floor once they are a bit older– do the uneven floors need to be remedied before carpeting? Thank you!

sared

in Flooring 11 years and 8 months ago

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theflooringgirl | 11 years and 8 months ago

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Yes, bouncy and uneven floors are very common in older houses, especially on higher floors. We see this all the time. In terms of laying carpet, having the floors straight is not an issue. But, if the sagging/bouncing is annoying and/or seems unsafe or may not be able to support the weight, then by all means bring in some reinforcement because that could be a real issue. As others have mentioned above, it may be the spacing of the joists (in which case you may be able to add more from below (vs. ripping things up). It could also be because the subfloor isn’t thick enough, in which case adding mor plywood might help or a combo. Best to have someone look at it. Could be a contractor or a flooring place or maybe even a handyman. After you get the support right, then call a flooring or carpet place. Debbie Gartner aka The Flooring Girl http://TheFlooringGirl.com Westchester County NY

masterbuilder | 11 years and 8 months ago

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Every old house has bouncy floors. However, when we gut them we usually only need to replace a few joists that have major cracks. Typically they run the full span of the house width. (We did just expose an odd joist running from front to rear and in danger of collapse.) Good joists can be sistered the full span.

cate | 11 years and 8 months ago

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Can you replace the floors without removing the walls?

nalusurf | 11 years and 8 months ago

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All good suggestions above. You will definitely need to expose the the floor joists of the room in question in order to fully assess the situation. I would go from the floor rather than the ceiling below, especially if you are considering ripping up the entire floor. This way you are dismantling one room instead of two, plus it save a ceiling that may be in fine condition. Not only is it likely improperly sized joists and/or spacing, there may be no “blocking” between the joists. Once you have exposed the joists a contractor can tell you whether the size is adequate for the span they are covering (or just look up joist span charts on-line), and as stated previously, sistering joists to beef them up would work. Laying new joists will also allow you an opportunity to level the floor, as the original joists have probably taken on the typical “banana” shape, meaning they are deflecting downward towards the floor below. You can also add blocking between the joists which will eliminate any twisting or bending (these are blocks of wood the same dimensions as the joists that are cut to fit perpendicular between the joists in a staggered line). Finally, you will want to add a proper sub-floor over the joists, I would recommend at least 5/8″ plywood screwed down every 6″ as this will tighten up the joists. I agree as well, you probably do not need an engineer, just a knowledgeable contractor. Good luck!

mruby36 | 11 years and 8 months ago

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Hi Sared, I’d combine the two above suggestions. “Sister onto the beams” would be accomplished more easily from above (taking up the existing floor) than from below (ripping our the ceiling). If you’re unclear what “sister onto the beams means”, taking up the flooring and underlayment exposes the floor framing joists. Taking a wider dimensional piece of framing lumber (if you have 6″ floor joists you would add an 8″ or 10″ piece) and attaching it to the existing framing. This can significantly stiffen up the floor from bouncing. If the floor has a sag, you can gently lift the sag out from below with some but minimal repair needed to the ceiling below. If adding height to the floor costs too much in resulting ceiling height, “bridging” (which is sort of framing added in between the joists) will take out some of the bounce as well. I agree the contractor / carpenter will be more useful than an engineer. I don’t think an engineer would agree however… I’m in the directory so if you’d like to discuss this further, I do this type of work and am available to speak with you further if you like. Thanks and hope this helps! Matt R www.nyc-hs.com

sared | 11 years and 8 months ago

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Thank you both! @Putnamdenizen — did you go through the ceiling, or just pull up from above and deal with joists that way? I’d been wondering about just pulling the floors up altogether (they are actually painted, and in not great condition) and putting plywood under the carpet, but wasn’t sure whether that was an option.

Putnamdenizen | 11 years and 8 months ago

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And you’ll probably want to put down plywood when you put in carpet. We took out floors completely apart, fixed the floor joists, put down (with screws) plywood then relaid the wide pine underflooring on our parlor floors.

Augustiner | 11 years and 8 months ago

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If the top floor in your house originally was an attic in the past, the spacing between the beams might be wider and less massive than on the floors below, which causes more the floor to be more bouncy. Structural problems could be cracked beams or termite damage. The best way to properly get to the source is to dismantle the ceiling on the floor underneath, at least in part. If you can live with the (quite common problem of) bouncyness and sagging, then just keep everything as is. If you want to fix it, the whole ceiling on the floor below has to come out and you need to sister some beams and probably replace some. Forget the structural engineer and flooring guy, if you want it fixed talk to a contractor/ carpenter.