bowed hardwood floors

I have a 150 yr.old house. The dining room floor is bowed. It bows in the middle and the sides are at least 2 1/4" off on either side. How in the world can this be fixed? One more thing the floor is over a dirt crawl space!!!. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

If you want to do it right you will need to remove the subfloor and replace the joists below. Any type of floor covering you choose will form to that bow. We have worked in many homes over 200 years old and this is the only remedy. Pulling the sub and adding shims to adjust the difference in my opinion is a quick fix and should not be done.

Phil

 

Call a home leveling firm. Your soil for the footing of your home has sunk in places and not in others. I bet you have sheetrock or other structural cracks in the walls too.

 

The specialists you talk to will also point out that you need a moisture barrier with the ground that close. On older houses, ventilation and moisture are problems by todays standards.....and you don't need moisture to slowly ruin any repairs you make.

Also, check all of the area water drainage including uphill neighbors, downspouts, water spring drainage paths, etc.....anything that drops moisture right at your foundation. Chances are the sinking foundation has to do with ground moisture also.

Good Luck,

Please let us now how you are doing with this project in the forum. I will be intrigued by what you find and how you approach the solution.