What Causes Bouncy Floors

The method or methods tom chooses depend as much on practicality as on effectiveness.

What causes bouncy floors. If the result is more like what you felt in the middle of the floor the beam below is either undersized or not supported sufficiently by posts. It s a span of 10 feet. Would screwing another sheet of plywood stiffen it up. Floors that bounce up and down when you walk across them are annoying.

Before we can start repairing bouncy floors in a home it s important to understand what causes them. I have a kitchen floor that bounces whenever we walk on it. Even structurally sound code compliant new floors can deflect or flex more than feels comfortable. Stiffening bouncy floor with plywood.

The basement is finished and i don t want to tear out the dry walled ceiling. As homeowners we quickly get used to a floor that has a little bouncy or spring to it as we walk across it and seldom give any thought to whether there is a problem. No one likes the feel of a supposedly solid floor bouncing or sagging underfoot. To lift a sagging floor you must hire a.

Finally stand near the beam. The floor may be structurally sound and built within code limits. In almost all cases the floor can be fixed so that it is solid and does not bounce. Spongy and bouncy floors generally are of little concern unless the cause relates to a serious structural issue.

There are a variety of ways to stiffen a floor. Contributing editor mike guertin teams up with structural engineer david grandpré to detail six common and not so common ways to stiffen up the joists and keep the china cabinet from wobbling. A springy or spongy feeling could indicate a minor issue a major problem or. In some cases it s purely an economical issue.

How to fix springy and spongy floors. Any bounce you can cause here should be small similar to what you felt along the exterior wall. The cause of bounce is traced to the normal flex that is part of wood floor joists. Bouncy floors are one of the most vexing problems faced in houses both new and old.

The area in particular is in the center of the room between the fridge and the dishwasher. Bouncy floors can be a sign of structural problems but most bouncy floors can be stiffened to the point that the bounce is no longer a problem. It s all very complex with wood because the amount of flex varies depending upon the species of wood and the grade of the actual pieces of lumber. The tiptoe drop should cause the biggest bounce here.