Cheltenham · Gloucestershire
Floor joist repairs in Cheltenham
If your floor in Cheltenham dips by a wall or bounces in the middle of the room, the joists are worth checking. Send photos of the floor, the outside wall at ground level and any air bricks, and we will tell you what the pattern suggests.
Guide price from£260per joist inc VAT
- Postcodes
- GL50, GL51, GL53
- Population
- about 120,000
- Area
- Gloucestershire
- Pricing region
- South West
Why does the ground in Gloucestershire matter for floor joist repairs?
Cheltenham is in Gloucestershire and takes in postcode districts GL50, GL51, GL53. About 120,000 people live there. Nearby, we also cover Tewkesbury (7 miles), Gloucester (7 miles) and Stroud (12 miles).
Gloucestershire has a mix of ground, with clay in some places and firmer rock in others. Parts of Gloucestershire lie on a former coalfield, so a coal mining search is worth checking if movement has no obvious cause. What you mostly find across Gloucestershire: Cotswold stone cottages, Regency terraces in Cheltenham, and brick estates around Gloucester.
How much will floor joist repairs cost in Cheltenham?
Prices in Cheltenham are worked out on South West rates. They include VAT and are a starting point: access, the extent of the damage and whether an engineer or building control is involved all move the figure.
| Item | Guide price | Per |
|---|---|---|
| Splicing or sistering a damaged joist | £260 – £410 | per joist |
| Whole room of joists and boards | £2,050 – £6,200 | per room |
| Sleeper wall rebuild and ventilationest. | £410 – £1,550 | per room |
Which repair method suits a home in Cheltenham?
Sleeper walls and ventilation
Settled or damp sleeper walls are rebuilt on a sound base with a damp-proof course under new timber plates. Blocked air bricks are cleared, extra ones added where the void has dead spots, and soil or paving heaped against the outside wall is lowered.
Best for: Damp ground floor voids or joists on poor supports
Splicing ends and fitting hangers
Where only the end has rotted, it is cut back to sound timber and a new piece is fixed alongside, bearing on the wall or on a new joist hanger. Missing or under-nailed hangers elsewhere are replaced at the same time. The damp in the wall must be fixed too.
Best for: Rotten joist ends in damp solid walls
What happens when we carry out floor joist repairs in Cheltenham?
Photos and a call
Send photos of the dip or soft area, the outside wall at ground level and any air bricks. A short call about when it started, and any recent plumbing or heating work, tells us whether the problem is local or widespread.
Lift boards and inspect
On site we lift a few boards where the floor is worst and check the joist ends, sleeper walls and void with a moisture meter. Outside, we look for high ground, blocked vents and leaks keeping the timber wet.
Repair the structure
Boards are lifted and numbered if they are going back, and rotten timber is cut out. New treated timber is fixed and checked with a level before strutting, hangers and any restraint straps go in.
Signs you may need floor joist repairs
- Floor bouncing, or ornaments rattling, when someone walks across
- A gap opening up between the skirting board and the floor
- Ceiling cracks below that follow the line of the joists
Rules for floor joist repairs in England
Like-for-like repairs such as crack stitching and repointing do not usually need building control approval in England, but anything that changes or strengthens the structure, such as underpinning or rebuilding a wall, does. If the work touches a party wall, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 may apply.
Floor joist repairs in Cheltenham: questions and answers
How much should I budget for floor joist repairs in Cheltenham?
Guide prices for floor joist repairs in Cheltenham start from about £260 per joist, including VAT, on South West rates. Your fixed written price follows photos or a survey and depends on the extent of the work and access.
Can you survey a property in Cheltenham?
We do. Cheltenham and the surrounding area are covered, including nearby Tewkesbury and Gloucester. A free initial assessment from your photos is the first step.
Why do houses in Gloucestershire crack?
The Severn vale around Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury is Lias and Mercia Mudstone clay, the Cotswolds are limestone, and the Forest of Dean has a historic coalfield. Parts of South Gloucestershire around Kingswood also lie on old Coal Measures. Only an investigation can say why a particular building has moved.
Can floor joists be repaired without taking up the whole floor?
Yes, in most cases only the boards over the affected joists need lifting, and three or four boards are often enough to sister a joist or splice a rotten end. Widespread rot is the exception, because the whole floor must come up to remove the decay.
What is sistering a floor joist?
Sistering is fixing a new length of timber alongside an existing joist so the two share the load. It strengthens a notched, cracked or sagging joist without removing it, so it is quicker and less disruptive than replacement.
Related work in Cheltenham
- Bay window subsidence repairs
- Structural crack repairs
- Crack stitching
- Lintel replacement
- Subsidence insurance claim repairs
Floor joist repairs near Cheltenham
Got a bouncy or sinking floor in Cheltenham? Send a short video of someone walking across it, and we will tell you what it is likely to need.