Why Is My Floor Uneven?

Uneven floors are a sign of serious problems with your foundation, and it can occur due to wood rot or a foundation settling. When water and humidity run rampant in your basement or crawl space, the floor joists can get infested with fungi and begin to rot. Fungi are microorganisms that eat organic material such as wood. When surviving on wood, the fungus completely deteriorates the joist as it consumes the wood. Because the wood is becoming soft or slowly breaking apart, it’s no longer able to support the floorboards, causing the unevenness.

Another cause for uneven floors is foundation settling, which occurs due to soil displacement. Expansive soil shrinks when all of its moisture content dries up or drains away. It loses its volume, so the foundation no longer has a stable layer of soil that can hold it up. The house begins to shift, and as it shifts, it begins to settle in many different places. The support beams and joists that once stood vertically begin to tilt along with the house and cause the floor to shift.

In both of these instances, the problem lies in a lack of proper waterproofing solutions for the foundation of the home. If water and water vapor get into the crawl space or basement, there will be wood rot. If water is allowed to flow towards the foundation, the chances of foundation settling will increase. To avoid the issue, proper yard drainage solutions should be put into place so the soil around the foundation isn’t saturated with soil every time it rains. Foundation piers and crawl space stabilizers can set things straight, but these should only be installed after the real problem is addressed—the water and humidity in the home’s sub-level.