Have you noticed a piece of furniture that seems to be at an angle? Maybe you’ve walked down a hallway in your home only to stumble a bit. These are all indications that your floor is uneven, and it’s likely due to foundation damage. Tar Heel has years of experience and professional foundation repair solutions to prevent this issue from arising in your home. Read on to learn more about uneven floors.
What Causes Uneven Floors?
Settlement Sinking
All foundations naturally experience some form of settlement throughout their lifetime. In many cases, this settlement is extremely minor and unnoticeable. Unfortunately, some home’s may experience problematic settlement and sinking when soil is damaged below their foundation. Usually, this comes from weather conditions such as heavy rain, or a drought, but it can also occur due to loosened soil after construction. No matter the cause, weak soil always leads to your foundation sinking into the ground and forcing your floors to become uneven as a result.
Wood Rot
For homes with a crawl space foundation, wood rot is a major cause for uneven floors. Most crawl spaces are built with wooden support beams throughout the structure. These include floor joists and columns that bolster your floor. Crawl spaces are often exposed to moisture, either through the humid North Carolina air or groundwater below your home. When excess moisture makes contact with wooden support beams, it breaks them down and leads to wood rot. Over time, these wooden supports become too weak to hold up your floor and it becomes uneven.
Tree Roots
Did you know that the root system of a tree tends to be twice the size of its canopy? If you have trees around your home with branches that extend close to your roof, then their roots are certainly extending well below your foundation. Tree roots can damage your home’s foundation as they push through the soil and suck moisture from it. Roots could disturb the structural integrity of soil and may cause sections of the ground to collapse below your home. Plus, as they suck moisture from the dirt, the soil shrinks in size and becomes brittle. Both situations make it harder for the soil to support your foundation, so it sinks, and your floors are once again left uneven.
Uneven Floors
FAQs
Yes. Not only do uneven floors become a tripping hazard for anyone living in your home, but they indicate foundation damage. If left unchecked, uneven floors can lead to other foundation problem signs in your home such as wall cracks, leaning chimneys, or stuck doors and windows. When your floor becomes uneven, its only a matter of time before these other important structures become the same way. Don’t take uneven floors lightly, make sure to get the problem fixed as soon as you possibly can.
Crafty homeowners might attempt a DIY fix for their uneven floors. In some cases, this involves putting concrete bricks in a crawl space to lift up failing support beams. Other examples might include filling cracked sections of a concrete slab. We’re here to tell you that DIY options simply won’t work. While they might provide temporary relief, they will eventually fail. That’s because DIY options don’t solve the real problems behind uneven floors. Only professional foundation repair solutions can protect against problems like wood rot or settlement. Contact a professional foundation service like Tar Heel to avoid wasting time, money, and effort.
It really depends, but generally speaking, yes. That’s because older homes have had a longer time to experience foundation damage – either from constant exposure to moisture and drought, or simply due to different building materials used back in the day. Thankfully, modern foundation solutions can still benefit older homes and keep them safe well into the future. If the sentimentality of your home is something you value, don’t let foundation problems or uneven floors get in the way. Contact a professional service to keep your home’s story alive.
Explore Solutions
Uneven floors don’t have to burden your home. Tar Heel Basement Systems has solutions designed for every foundation type that keep your floor, and entire home, permanently supported. We use pier systems, crawl space supports, wall anchors, and more to keep your home protected from foundation damage. With these solutions, you don’t have to worry about uneven floors or other foundation problems signs ever again!
Call Tar Heel for a Free Estimate
Your home deserves to stay protected from foundation damage. At Tar Heel Basement Systems, its our goal to provide efficient service to homeowners in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill metro area, Wilmington, and the Winston-Salem/Greensboro/High Point metro area. Since 2003, we’ve been solving foundation problems of all kinds, and our success is proven by thousands of positive online reviews and awards from the Better Business Bureau and Home Advisor. Contact us today to learn more about our foundation repair services and schedule a free inspection with one of our technician specialists!
