Thursday, July 19, 2018

5 Reasons Your Floor Joists may Cause Uneven Flooring

Floor joists are a vital element in a flooring structure. They basically sustain the floor to be level and stable, and also play an important role in absorbing impacts and the overall weight that is distributed onto the floor. However, due to various reasons, floor joists may be the cause for uneven flooring.

1 - Construction Inaccuracies

Floor joists are essentially built at right angles to the beams. However, due to a slight inaccuracy in the angles, they might cause some irregular patches. They also need to be flawlessly level and flat, otherwise bumps and unevenness will result in those particular areas of the floor.
2 - Settling of the Structure

The building will in time settle. A suitable structural support from below needs to be in place so as to avoid unevenness in the floors.
3 - Lack of Planning

Indispensable additions such as duct work, pipes and electrical lines, will need to be installed when building. If these elements are not taken into consideration in advance, they might effect the placing of the floor joists. This will in turn result in possible pushing, and faulty angularities, which as a direct result will cause unevenness in the floor.
4 - Expansions and Contractions

Most floor joists are made from wood. Being a natural material, wood expands and contracts due to temperature changes. As a result this may cause a slight change in their original location, and in the level of sustenance. As a consequence, the floor may have occasional bumps due to resultant cupping, crowning and separations.

5 - Moisture

If water leaks through and gets absorbed by the floor joists, there will be some trapped moisture. This may in turn result in unevenness in the floor due to changes in the layout of the wood.


Source: www.DoItYourself.com