Lifting floorboards

Lifting or Springy Floorboards

Warped or springy timber is a sign that moisture has built up in the underfloor void.

OxfordshireDamp · Remedy · Restore

Field note

Category: Floor symptoms
Likely cause: Rising Damp
Guarantee: 10-year written

CSRT-accredited survey

Schematic · Plate 07

AP/DAMP

Warped or springy timber is a sign that moisture has built up in the underfloor void.

The cause

What causes it

Floorboards that cup, warp, lift at the edges, or feel springy underfoot are reacting to moisture from below. The cause is usually high humidity or standing damp in the underfloor void — most often from ground-source rising damp in the supporting walls, blocked or missing airbricks, or a water leak that is wetting the joists. Timber expands and contracts with moisture content, so once the void becomes humid the boards swell, push against each other, and deform. In severe cases joists themselves rot and boards lose their fixings.

Presentation

What to look for

Look for boards that no longer sit flush with their neighbours, gaps that open and close with the seasons, edges that curl upwards, and squeaks or movement underfoot. You may notice a musty smell when you open a cupboard or lift a rug. Skirting boards above the affected area can also show damp staining or paint failure. In older properties a quick check at airbricks around the base of the external wall often reveals them blocked by render, paving, or garden growth.

Why it matters

If it is left alone

Damp floor timbers do not recover on their own. Moisture in the void provides the conditions for wet rot and, in worse cases, dry rot, both of which destroy timber faster than most homeowners expect. Joist ends embedded in damp masonry are particularly vulnerable. Acting while only the boards are affected usually means a relatively contained repair; leaving it until joists or wall plates have rotted means structural work, sometimes including jacking the floor and rebuilding bearings.

The remedy

How we treat it

A full ground-floor damp survey identifies whether the void is wet because of rising damp, blocked ventilation, a leak, or a combination. Treatment may include installing a chemical damp-proof course in the supporting walls, clearing or adding airbricks to restore cross-flow ventilation, repairing any leaks, and replacing rotted timbers with treated alternatives. The void is then left to dry before new boards are laid. We provide a written specification, photographic evidence, and a 10-year guarantee on the remedial damp-proofing work.

Recommended treatment

Rising Damp Treatment

Every treatment begins with a CSRT-accredited on-site survey, is delivered to a written specification, and is backed by a 10-year guarantee against recurrence.

Written specification 10-year guarantee

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