Reinforcing Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood floors are a valuable feature in your home, but over time they can become worn out and begin to sag. Fortunately, you can counteract this sagging by reinforcing your hardwood flooring. Reinforcing your flooring can be a DIY job as long as you take careful measurements and don't rush the job. After trying a couple of less intrusive fixes, you can reinforce the floor joists for optimal results.

40-ton hydraulic jack
Tape measure
Wood or steal beams
16d nails

Instructions

- 1
  Access the area beneath the floors that needs to be reinforced. Go to the crawl space or basement for first floor reinforcements. Remove ceiling panels if you need to access the second story flooring.
- 2
  Place a 40-ton hydraulic jack under the floor joist. Lift the floor slowly. Let the floor naturally settle for 12 hours. Lift the floor again. Continue this process for two weeks and see if the floors have risen to their previous position. If successful, you can add beams to keep the floors in position.
- 3
  Remove any wires that are located near the floor joists if you did not add new beams. You need ample access to the floor joists, so you need to remove any wires or cables that obstruct your path to the floor joists.
- 4
  Measure the floor joists. Use wood or steel beams of an equal measurement to add reinforcement. Attach the new joist flush against the old joists with sturdy 16d nails.
- 5
  Attach a cross beam under the floor joists. This beam will help to support the load.

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