Basement Floor Repair From Foundation Settling & Sinking

It's hard to believe that the floor in your basement could sink, but they can. Sinking basement floors can be indications of a variety of basement problems. All of these problems are potentially serious ones, and serious attention should be paid attention to them, as they can indicate a very serious foundation problem. Below are the most common causes of sinking floors in a basement:

Your walls connect to the ceiling. When your basement floor starts to settle you will notice a gap between the wall and the ceiling or by the baseboard and the floor or a support post and the ceiling. The ground can settle in a finished or unfinished basement. Another indicator that the basement floor may be sinking as you begin to feel the room is sloping one way. You may begin to notice cracks in the pavement. The floor may also become more bowl shaped. If your basement is finished and your floor has carpet on it, you won’t be able to see the cracks, if there are any, but you may you may notice the room sloping. Not being able to close a door is another indicator that your floor is sinking and needs repair.

If you don’t think this can’t happen to a new house, think again. A sinking basement floor is not reserved for older homes. Cement slabs sink due to the ground beneath them. When moisture evaporates from the soil, the soil compacts and the cement slab on top of the dirt begins to sink. In one of our basement floor jobs, the home had a broken sewer line. The homeowner had no indication how long the sewer line had been broken. This broken sewer line caused both the garage and the basement floor to sink significantly. This is turn caused the upstairs floors and walls too began to sink as they were supported by the four columns on the ground level. The masonry fireplace had begun to fall from the wall as well.