Picture this: you’re walking across your living room, coffee in hand when you feel it – an unexpected bounce underfoot. No, your home hasn’t magically transformed into a funhouse.
What you’re experiencing are bouncy floors, a common (but often overlooked) issue many homeowners face. If you’ve found yourself in this situation, don’t worry—it can be fixed.
We’ve put together a comprehensive guide to help you understand why your floors feel so strange. Here’s seven proven solutions to restore your bouncy floors.
Why Your Floors Are Bouncy
Bouncy floors are an SOS signal coming from your crawl space. Most likely, there is excess moisture below your home.
In fact, crawl space moisture is the leading cause of most crawl space issues including, mold, wood rot, and pests. As these problem signs compound, they break down a key structure that keeps your floor solid: the floor joists.
When floor joists are damaged, your floor looks uneven and becomes bouncy. You can see an example of this in the image. Here’s the good news: every problem has a solution, and we’re here to ensure you land firmly back on your feet!
How to Fix Bouncy Floors
1. Crawl Space Support Jacks
When floor joists fail, this solution becomes the backbone of a firm floor. Crawl space support jacks are the sturdy sidekicks your home needs.
Being adjustable to nearly any size crawl space, support jacks stabilize your home’s damaged support beams and floor joists, counteracting the pesky bounce. Groundworks installs the SettleStop IntelliJack™ system, which provides reliable support for your crawl space, handling loads over 24,000 pounds per jack.
Tested and certified to the highest industry standards, it consistently upholds your home’s weight with unwavering strength. By adding support jacks, you can evenly distribute the load of your house, ensuring your floors remain as steady as a rock.
2. Crawl Space Vapor Barrier
Crawl spaces are generally damp and uncontrolled environments. Hardly anything stands between your floor and a dirty crawl space—that’s where our vapor barrier steps in.
This mighty moisture shield keeps water at bay, whether it’s groundwater or humid air. Groundworks uses a 20-mil vapor barrier made with polyethylene material and anti-bacterial properties. Besides keeping water out of your crawl space, it also makes the space look more inviting, as you can see in the image.
Installing a vapor barrier in your crawl space also stops the upward movement of moisture (called the Stack Effect), preventing warm, humid air from reaching your floors and the structures that support it. As a result, your floors stay bounce-free and solid.
3. Crawl Space Dehumidifier
Bouncy floors signify a damp crawl space, and a damp crawl space signifies high humidity below your home. Luckily, our AquaStop crawl space dehumidifier is ready for action.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it’s ideal to maintain an area’s relative humidity under 60 percent. This lower humidity also helps to deter pests, such as cockroaches and dust mites.
Unprotected crawl spaces tend to have a much higher relative humidity, so mold and pests can appear quickly. Eventually, they damage the structures supporting your floor.
By removing up to 100 pints of water a day, our AquaStop Air System prevents wood structures in your home from soaking up moisture and becoming weak due to mold or pests. Our dehumidifier system also drains water on its own, so you won’t have to go below your home just to empty it. Your crawl space stays dry and controlled.
4. Crawl Space Vent Doors
Airflow regulation is a game-changer in keeping your crawl space—and subsequently your floors—dry and sturdy. It was once thought that crawl space vents would allow air to continuously flow in and out of a crawl space, creating a cool and controlled environment.
Unfortunately, these vents had the opposite effect; they actually made it easier for humid air to get into a crawl space. Blocking this airflow is now one of the best ways to mitigate crawl space moisture, and our crawl space vent doors are built for this purpose.
By controlling the amount of outdoor humidity that enters, these vent doors prevent unwanted moisture build-up that might otherwise lead to bouncy floors. When used in tandem with other crawl space solutions, they help keep the environment below your home well-controlled.
5. Crawl Space Insulation
Our crawl space insulation delivers a double whammy – it keeps your floors firm and your feet warm. We use thermal insulation, which is much better suited to a crawl space than the traditional fiberglass insulation found in so many.
Thermal insulation works like a heat shield, blocking the flow of heat. This could be the heat within a solid object (conduction), the heat moving through fluid (convection), or heat radiating outward (radiation). This is achieved because insulators are poor conductors of heat due to their low thermal conductivity. In other words, they’re experts at keeping heat where it belongs!
Our thermal insulation is called ExtremeBloc™. This standout material has an impressive R-value of 11, which measures its resistance to heat flow – the higher the R-value, the better the insulation.
Our insulation is crafted from eco-friendly components, and also has a built-in defense system against termites and other pests. By preventing energy loss and moisture intrusion, it helps maintain the structural integrity of your flooring.
6. Perimeter Drains & Sump Pumps
Our drainage systems and sump pumps are the water management systems you need to stop excess water from damaging your floors. Groundworks installs crawl space drains that boasts a special filtering exterior.
This prevents rocks, dirt, and other debris from getting inside the drainage tube itself and decreases the likelihood of a clog. Meanwhile, a sump pump operates by detecting water that enters a designated collection pit (sump pit) and automatically activating to pump the water away from your home.
Ours uses a discharge line that can be connected to your water line system to move water to a safe distance, ensuring your crawl space remains dry. Plus, our sump pumps come with an optional backup battery, so it stays running even if a bad storm causes power to go out.
Working together, these systems effectively move groundwater water away from your home and prevent it from collecting in your crawl space or weakening your floors. Without water, bouncy floors have a hard time coming back.
7. Call Groundworks!
When in doubt, bring in the experts. Our experienced professionals at Groundworks are ready to conduct a free inspection, diagnosing the exact cause of your bouncy floors and prescribing the best solution.
Our company has helped millions of homeowners across the U.S.A. repair and prevent crawl space problems. Remember, your journey towards steadier steps starts with understanding the root causes and knowing the remedies at your disposal. Our team is here to help make that process easier.
Put an End to Bouncy Floors Today!
We all know that life is full of ups and downs, but your floors shouldn’t do the same. Our solutions are designed to work together in a whole-home solution called crawl space encapsulation. Groundworks has the industry-leading tools and expertise to install encapsulation in your home.
With local offices across the country, our team is committed to making your home as safe, comfortable, and functional as possible. Embrace firm, steady floors, and leave the bounce behind by contacting us today!
Bouncy Floors FAQs
While a bouncing floor may seem like an added feature straight out of a theme park, it’s not something to be ignored or taken lightly. Excessive bounce can be a sign of structural issues, and those could snowball into bigger issues like wall cracks, wood rot, or a collapsed floor. Always consult a professional if you’re unsure.
Many factors can contribute to a floor’s bounce. It could be anything from issues with joists and support beams to excessive moisture in your crawl space. Every situation is unique, so diagnosing the correct cause is crucial.
While some solutions can be a DIY project, often it’s best to consult with a professional. Addressing bouncy floors involves complex home repair tasks. Our team at Groundworks is always ready to lend a hand with our crawl space solutions.
