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Richmond Foundation Repair

Serving Richmond and nearby areas

Sloping and Sagging Floors in Richmond, VA

A floor that slopes, bounces or dips in Richmond usually means something under it has sunk, rotted or worn out, and a free inspection finds which one and gives you a written price.

Call now: (804) 293-2238 or book your free inspection online

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Local to Richmond

We connect property owners in Richmond and nearby areas, including The Fan, Museum District, Church Hill, Shockoe Bottom, Ginter Park and Woodland Heights, with one independent local foundation repair specialist.

  • Many homes are a century old

    About 29 percent of homes in the city of Richmond were built before 1940, according to an analysis of Census data. The Fan was mostly built between 1890 and 1930.

  • Floors held up from a crawl space

    Only about 4 to 7 percent of homes in the city of Richmond have a basement, one Virginia study of home sales found. Most floors here rest on beams and piers in a crawl space or on a slab.

  • Clay the counties map

    Henrico County requires a soils report before it permits a new home or addition where its maps show moderate or high shrink-swell soil. Soil that swells and shrinks can lift or drop the piers under a floor.

What it costs

Typical published ranges for Richmond. The contractor's written estimate is the price, and the inspection is free.

WorkTypical range
Sagging floor repair, typical project $1,000 to $8,500
Sistering a damaged joist $150 to $325per joist
Replacing a badly rotted joist $500 to $2,500per joist
Main support beam replacement $2,000 to $10,000
Crawl space or pier and beam repair $2,000 to $15,000

See typical foundation repair prices in Richmond

What a sloping floor looks like

Sloping floors creep up slowly. Most people notice them only when something else goes wrong. Here are the clues Richmond homeowners tell us about most.

A ball or marble rolls

To one side of the room on its own.

A dip in the middle

Of a room or hallway, often right over the main beam.

Bounce when you walk,

So dishes rattle or the TV shakes.

Furniture that rocks

Or leans away from the wall.

Gaps under baseboards

Where the floor has dropped away from the trim.

Doors that swing open or shut

On their own, or rub at the top corner.

Cracked tile

In a kitchen or bathroom, in the same spot again and again.

A soft spot

That gives a little when you step on it, often near a tub, toilet or sink.

A slope on its own is a clue. A slope that comes with new cracks or sticking doors is a stronger one.

Why floors slope in Richmond homes

The floor is held up from below. Most Richmond homes do not have a basement. The floor sits on wood joists, which rest on beams, which rest on brick or block piers in a crawl space. If any part of that chain sinks, rots or bends, the floor above follows.

Damp wood gets weak. Richmond summers are humid, and a Department of Energy funded study of homes in the humid Southeast found vented crawl spaces often went above 80 percent humidity in summer. Wood that stays damp for years can rot and sag. Henrico County also rates local termite risk as moderate to heavy, and termites eat damp wood from the inside.

Piers sink into soft ground. Many older piers were set on shallow footings, or on no footing at all. Clay in parts of the region swells when wet and shrinks when dry. Henrico requires a soils report for new homes where its maps show shrink-swell soil, but houses built before those rules had no such check.

Old houses carry a lot of history. About 29 percent of homes in the city of Richmond were built before 1940. Over a hundred years, joists get notched for pipes, cut for ducts, and loaded with heavy tile, tubs and kitchens they were never sized for.

The main beam often sits in the middle. In many older homes, the center of the house rests on a line of piers under one main beam. When those piers settle more than the outside walls, the floor dips toward the middle of the house.

When it is cosmetic and when it is urgent

Usually not urgent:

  • An old, gentle slope that has not changed in years
  • Bounce in one room with no cracks or soft spots
  • A slight dip where an old wall was removed long ago

Have it checked soon:

  • A slope that is new, or getting worse from season to season
  • A soft or spongy spot, especially near a bathroom or kitchen
  • Floors that slope along with new cracks, gaps or sticking doors
  • Sagging under a heavy load like a tub, piano or full bookshelf
  • Wood in the crawl space that is wet, dark or crumbly

What the fix usually is

The inspector first maps how level the floors are across the whole house. That shows where the drop is and how big it is. Then they go under the house to find the cause. The common fixes are these.

New support posts

Adjustable steel posts on new concrete footings go under a sagging beam. They are raised a little at a time to bring the floor back up.

Sistered joists

A new board is fastened alongside a weak or cracked joist to make it strong again.

New beams or joists

Badly rotted wood is cut out and replaced.

Pier repair

A sunken brick or block pier is rebuilt on a proper footing.

Drying the crawl space

If damp caused the rot, the crawl space is dried out so the new wood does not rot too.

Lifting is done slowly. An old floor that has sagged for decades can crack plaster and tile if it is pushed up too fast. Your estimate should say how much lift to expect.

The prices in the table are typical published ranges from Fixr, not a quote. The number of posts, joists and feet of beam is what moves the price the most.

What to do before the inspection

  1. Do the marble test. Set a marble or small ball in a few spots and note which way it rolls.
  2. Measure gaps. Note the gap under baseboards or at the top of doors, and take photos with a ruler.
  3. Find soft spots. Walk the house in socks and mark spots that give or creak.
  4. Clear the path. Make sure the crawl space door is easy to reach.
  5. Move heavy loads. If one area sags badly, take weight off it, like a full bookcase or aquarium.

Call (804) 293-2238 or send the short form. A local crew will measure your floors, check under the house, and give you a written price.

Frequently asked questions

Is it normal for an old Richmond house to have sloping floors?

A little slope is common in a house that is 80 or 100 years old. What matters is whether it is getting worse. A floor that is new to sloping, or that slopes more each year, means something is still moving.

How much floor slope is too much?

There is no single number that fits every house. A slope that is growing, or one that comes with cracks, sticking doors or a soft spot, matters more than the slope itself. The inspector measures your floors and tells you what they find.

Why does my floor bounce when I walk on it?

Bounce usually means the joists under that floor are too small, too far apart, cut for old plumbing, or weakened by damp. It can also mean a support post or pier under the floor has sunk away from the beam.

Can sagging floors be fixed without tearing up the floor?

In a crawl space home, most of the work happens from below. The crew adds supports under the beams and reinforces weak joists from the crawl space, so the floor you walk on usually stays in place.

Will the floor go back to perfectly level?

Not always. Old framing that has sagged for decades can only be lifted a little at a time without cracking plaster and tile. The goal is to get it as close to level as is safe and to stop it from dropping further.

Is a sagging floor dangerous?

Most sag slowly and are not an emergency. A floor that drops suddenly, cracks or feels like it may give way, especially under a tub, fridge or piano, should be looked at right away.

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Common foundation repair problems in Richmond

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