At Guardian Foundation Repair we offer subfloor replacement and repair services.
We’re one of the few local companies that specialize in both professional foundation repair and subfloor replacement. When water affects your subfloor, we know exactly how to address it. Our team is experienced in identifying and fixing moisture damage, preventing further issues, and reinforcing your home’s structure from the ground up.
Take a look at some of the work we’ve done:
When it comes to subfloor replacement and repair, we handle everything from minor repairs to full subfloor installations.
Many homes throughout the southwest Missouri area have old crawlspace foundations. In fact,
crawlspace foundations are one of the most popular types of foundations throughout the mid-lateral United States. Another term for crawlspace foundation is “beam and pier”. Not only does southwest Missouri have a large number of crawlspaces but we also incur many high moisture and high humidity days throughout the year. In particular, from Kansas to Illinois, Kentucky, Virginia, and the Carolinas, you will see a similar theme; that is, a large concentration of crawlspaces with higher-than-normal humidity.
Because of the high humidity in a crawlspace, homeowners are commonly left with damages from wet air in a tight environment. Damages include mold, mildew, fungus, wood rot, bugs such as termites, poor air quality, a poorly insulated environment, and health issues. Because of these issues, a service called crawlspace encapsulation was invented in the late 1990s to help prevent not only all of these issues but also standing water that contributes to dirt erosion and foundation settlement.
For more information on crawlspace encapsulation visit our encapsulation page
For more information on foundation settlement visit our push pier page
OUR SOLUTION
Unfortunately, for many homeowners, when it comes to moisture, wood rot, or termites it may be too late to guard against these issues through preventative measures such as waterproofing. However, moving forward, to prevent further issues professional waterproofing must be considered to help the overall health of the home. Unfortunately, in many cases there has already been significant damage that has caused wood to rot and joists to break. In this case, the most important thing to do to recover the home is to re-enforce the floors with new joists. Sometimes this can be done underneath the home, provided there is enough head clearance.
However, older homes (typically older than 1960) will require working from above. In other words, there may not be a “true crawlspace”. For instance, many older homes were built without the consideration of plumbing repair, etc., making access impossible. The best method for recovering homes with no crawlspace (therefore no space provided to render repairs) is to take up the subfloor. Here at Guardian, we have helped to recover many homes that have needed both joist reinforcement and subfloor removal and replacement. This process is very rewarding as the end result produces sturdy heavy-duty floors that are ready to provide stability and functionality again.
OUR SERVICES
For our installation process, it varies based on need. For instance, one home may need only a couple of joists reinforced from underneath or a joist and rim joist (rim joists are on the exterior walls). Some homes only need the woodwork under a plumbing area where there has been a leak while other homes need to be rebuilt from the inside nearly in full.
A drastic case may include gutting all subfloor, reinforcing all joists, and rim joists, digging out crawlspace dirt to provide more working space, inserting our steel floor stabilizers and steel beams (see floor support page) as well as rebuilding all subfloor. We have even had several homeowners do all of the above plus add preventative waterproofing through our crawlspace encapsulation service to ensure they can protect their new wood!