How To Fix A Floor That Bounces

Tom s house was built in 1765 but bouncy floors aren t just an old house problem.

How to fix a floor that bounces.

The area in particular is in the center of the room between the fridge and the dishwasher. Bouncy floors are one of the most vexing problems faced in houses both new and old. I have a kitchen floor that bounces whenever we walk on it. You can stiffen the floor in just one room or in as many rooms as you like.

Bouncy and spongy floors generally are of little concern unless the cause relates to a certain structural issue. The basement is finished and i don t want to tear out the dry walled ceiling. There are a variety of ways to stiffen a floor. How to fix springy and spongy floors.

How to take bounce out of floors. Learn how to fix your bouncy floor with the four methods listed below. In most cases repairing bouncy floors is no easy task. Remembering his boyhood kitchen tom makes sure that any new floor he builds is rock solid.

Would screwing another sheet of plywood stiffen it up. Even structurally sound code compliant new floors can deflect or flex more than feels comfortable. 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. Photo by richard howard 4 ways to stop the bounce.

No one likes the feel of a supposedly solid floor bouncing or sagging underfoot. The floor hardly bounced at all and the client was happy. The method or methods tom chooses depend as much on practicality as on effectiveness. It s a span of 10 feet.

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. Knowing which of the 7 common causes will help determine the seriousness and help determine the fix. Let s take a look at some of the different options for stiffening up a floor from below for each of the possible floor.

But if you have an unfinished basement or a basement with a drop ceiling you just might have enough access to stiffen up the floor from below. This article will show you three better ways to take the bounce out of a floor. Stiffening upper floors typically requires removing some or all of the finished ceiling below.