Photo Album: SmartJacks Stabilize, Lift Sagging Floors in Princeton, IN
After living in their house over 17 years, homeowners in Princeton, IN, started to notice some glaring issues only beginning to worsen over time. They noticed some areas of the upper floors appeared to be sagging or sloping.
Sagging floors are not only a nuisance, but they can leave you wondering how much longer the floor will be able to support the weight of everything on it! So what created the problem?
In this homeowners case, they had floor joists and girders that had been weakened. When wood is exposed to moisture and humidity, it can begin to rot, possibly mold, and can become weak. The weakened girders and floor joists are unable to continue supporting the weight above, and the floor above the crawl space may begin to sag.
The homeowners were eager to contact Healthy Spaces after learning about our company online. They met with our Design Specialist, Abe Ford, who ventured into the crawl space under the home to investigate the home's support system. He found failing wood support beams ad he recommended one of our reliable repair solutions.
Our foundation crew then installed a new steel supplemental support beam, which was reinforced by several SmartJacks. These heavy-duty, galvanized steel supports permanently reinforce the above floor and floor joists, and offer the best opportunity to raise the floors back to level. The SmartJacks are designed to stop settling, but can easily be adjusted if any settlement occurs.
The homeowners now have peace of mind knowing these trustworthy repairs have created a safe and stable living environment that they will be able to enjoy for many years to come.
Failing crawl space support beam.
Here you can see the concrete column appears to be solid but you can see that the columns will continue to sink into the earth, which will ultimately fail.
Another look at a failing support system
Crawl space girders or beams are sometimes supported by columns made from concrete blocks. The blocks are typically stacked on a concrete footing and held together with mortar. Since the completed column isn't adjustable, additional shimming will be needed as the concrete column settles or the wood girder shrinks.
SmartJack Support System
SmartJacks are steel support systems used to stabilize and level the girders and floor joists in a crawl space. SmartJacks are the best opportunity to lift the above floors and walls back to their origninal position.
