Floating Wooden Floor Bouncing

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.

Floating wooden floor bouncing. If you take a 2x10 solid lumber floor joist that is spanning 16 feet and place a 94 pound sack of cement in mid span the floor joist will bend downwards a given distance. No one likes the feel of a supposedly solid floor bouncing or sagging underfoot. Floating floors are exactly that because they float. Floor joists whether they be solid wood engineered lumber like yours or even steel can deflect or bend under a given amount of weight and a given amount of span.

That s why you leave a space along the walls to allow for this. A springy or spongy feeling could indicate a minor issue a major problem or. There are a variety of ways to stiffen a floor. 2 the downstairs bedroom has a ceiling light fixture right in the middle of the room where the sagging is worst.

Check out the previous episode where we discuss the plans for this kitchen. 3 a brick wall that runs beneath the center of the downstairs room in the basement but it is old and i m not sure if it is can support the jacks. This issue can be minimized with a perpendicular beam. How to fix springy and spongy floors.

The materials that floating floors are manufactured with regardless of whether the top of the floor is wood cork etc. Even structurally sound code compliant new floors can deflect or flex more than feels comfortable. Is material that expands and contracts. The method or methods tom chooses depend as much on practicality as on effectiveness.

Working in the unfinished basement below the bouncy floor we had to remove the plumbing and electrical lines running through the joists and then rerun the lines. Spongy and bouncy floors generally are of little concern unless the cause relates to a serious structural issue. It was a complex expensive job. We wouldn t typically replace good flooring with plywood but as this is being ov.

1 the downstairs floors are hardwood and i don t want to crack them.