What we fix
Sinking Floors & Piers
What are the signs of sinking floors & piers?
Floor piers, or house piers, are of the utmost importance in any building. They sit under the structure and carry your floors, your load-bearing walls, your roof–every critical part of your home. They even carry you and your family.
When floor piers fail, it impacts the whole house.
It can cause floors and other parts of your house to start sinking. In the most extreme circumstances, it can even cause structural collapse. Have a bad feeling your house is sitting on sinking floor piers? Read the warning signs to look out for below.
How do I identify sinking floors & piers?
Cracking Gyprock Walls
Sinking floors & piers don’t tend to crack masonry walls. But if you see cracked Gyprock walls, there’s a strong chance that you have unevenly sinking floor piers under your home. This is because when floor piers sink, they do so at different rates. This forces uneven pressure into the structure, causing weaker walls to crack.
Objects Move on the Floor
One of the easiest ways to tell if you have sinking piers is to place a ball on the floor. Floor piers sink at different rates, causing sloping, uneven floors throughout your entire home. So if you watch the ball roll away from you on its own, it’s likely you’re dealing with sinking floor piers.
Internal Doors Jam
Doors aren’t built to get stuck. It’s only through the shifting of walls and floors over time that this will start to happen. If you notice the bottom of a door is jamming against the floor when it’s opened, then it’s very likely the that floor is suffering from a sinking pier.
You Feel a Dip When you Walk
Some floor piers will sink faster and deeper than others. This causes your floor to slant. In some cases, these physical slants aren’t obvious. But if you and your family can feel or even see it, then you definitely need to get your floor piers inspected.
Rattling Furniture
When furniture is sitting on an uneven floor, the feet are unable to make a level connection. This causes them to move and rattle when used. Cupboard doors may rattle when you open them. Couch legs may rattle when you sit at one end. All of this points to your floorboards failing due to sinking floor piers.
Ceiling Cracks & Falling Cornice
With some floor piers sinking deeper than others, large forces are exerted on the floor of your home. These forces travel up the walls and into the ceiling, causing cracks to appear. Sometimes, this will also cause ornamental cornices to crack and fall from ceiling corners.
Cracking Gyprock Walls
Sinking floors & piers don’t tend to crack masonry walls. But if you see cracked Gyprock walls, there’s a strong chance that you have unevenly sinking floor piers under your home. This is because when floor piers sink, they do so at different rates. This forces uneven pressure into the structure, causing weaker walls to crack.
Objects Move on the Floor
One of the easiest ways to tell if you have sinking piers is to place a ball on the floor. Floor piers sink at different rates, causing sloping, uneven floors throughout your entire home. So if you watch the ball roll away from you on its own, it’s likely you’re dealing with sinking floor piers.
Internal Doors Jam
Doors aren’t built to get stuck. It’s only through the shifting of walls and floors over time that this will start to happen. If you notice the bottom of a door is jamming against the floor when it’s opened, then it’s very likely the that floor is suffering from a sinking pier.
You Feel a Dip When you Walk
Some floor piers will sink faster and deeper than others. This causes your floor to slant. In some cases, these physical slants aren’t obvious. But if you and your family can feel or even see it, then you definitely need to get your floor piers inspected.
Rattling Furniture
When furniture is sitting on an uneven floor, the feet are unable to make a level connection. This causes them to move and rattle when used. Cupboard doors may rattle when you open them. Couch legs may rattle when you sit at one end. All of this points to your floorboards failing due to sinking floor piers.
Ceiling Cracks & Falling Cornice
With some floor piers sinking deeper than others, large forces are exerted on the floor of your home. These forces travel up the walls and into the ceiling, causing cracks to appear. Sometimes, this will also cause ornamental cornices to crack and fall from ceiling corners.
What are the leading causes of sinking floors & piers?
Leaking Underground Drains
When excess water soaks into the ground, it causes soil erosion, aeration and voids. This makes the soil saturated and weak. When it comes to sinking house piers, excess water commonly leaks in from cracked, broken or unconnected bathroom and kitchen drains. Water from leaking drainage can travel through the ground and around your piers, pooling in the soil and causing structural movement.
Poor Roof Drainage
When roof gutters around your home overflow with rain, the excess water can find its way to your home’s foundations and its floor piers. Even after the rain stops, the pooled water will have nowhere else to go except into the supporting soil. Again, this weakens the foundations that your floor piers sit on, increasing their chance of sinking.
Lengthy Drought
Reactive clay soils expand and contract under different weather conditions. They expand in cooler, wetter weather but contract when it’s hot and dry. If you’ve experienced a long drought, the reactive clay soil under your home may have contracted more than normal, causing your floor piers to sink along with it.
Leaking Underground Drains
When excess water soaks into the ground, it causes soil erosion, aeration and voids. This makes the soil saturated and weak. When it comes to sinking house piers, excess water commonly leaks in from cracked, broken or unconnected bathroom and kitchen drains. Water from leaking drainage can travel through the ground and around your piers, pooling in the soil and causing structural movement.
Poor Roof Drainage
When roof gutters around your home overflow with rain, the excess water can find its way to your home’s foundations and its floor piers. Even after the rain stops, the pooled water will have nowhere else to go except into the supporting soil. Again, this weakens the foundations that your floor piers sit on, increasing their chance of sinking.
Lengthy Drought
Reactive clay soils expand and contract under different weather conditions. They expand in cooler, wetter weather but contract when it’s hot and dry. If you’ve experienced a long drought, the reactive clay soil under your home may have contracted more than normal, causing your floor piers to sink along with it.
Need a solution for sinking floors & piers?
Worried your floor piers are sinking? We have fast, cost-effective solutions to protect your home.
Worried your floor piers are sinking? We have fast, cost-effective solutions to protect your home.