Dover · Kent
Floor joist repairs in Dover
If a plumber or electrician has recently had the boards up at your Dover home, the joists they worked around are worth a look. Deep notches and holes in the wrong place weaken joists quickly, and sistering them is usually a short, tidy job.
Guide price from£280per joist inc VAT
- Postcodes
- CT14, CT16, CT17
- Population
- about 42,000
- Area
- Kent
- Pricing region
- South East
How do local ground conditions affect floor joist repairs in Dover?
Postcode districts CT14, CT16, CT17 cover Dover, a Kent town of about 42,000 people. If you are just outside Dover, we also cover Folkestone (7 miles), Deal (8 miles) and Canterbury (15 miles).
Kent is one of the parts of the UK where clay soils are most likely to move with the seasons. Parts of Kent lie on a former coalfield, so a coal mining search is worth checking if movement has no obvious cause. Housing stock in Kent: Victorian terraces in the Medway towns, weatherboarded and Wealden houses, 1930s semis and seaside bungalows.
Which repair method suits a home in Dover?
Replacing joists and boards
When rot or woodworm runs through most of a floor, it is usually cheaper to replace the joists, strutting and boards together. Where joists run parallel to an outside wall, restraint straps tie the new floor back to it so the wall keeps its lateral support.
Best for: Widespread rot, or a whole floor that has dropped
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
What happens when we carry out floor joist repairs in Dover?
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.
Written quote
You get a no-obligation written quote listing which joists are sistered, spliced or replaced and any sleeper wall or ventilation work. It becomes a fixed price in writing once the repair is specified.
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 dipping towards an outside wall or in the middle of the room
- A gap opening up between the skirting board and the floor
- A musty smell, or fungal strands showing between the boards
How much will floor joist repairs cost in Dover?
The ranges below reflect typical South East costs for floor joist repairs, including VAT. Scaffold, access and making good can push a job to the top of the range.
| Item | Guide price | Per |
|---|---|---|
| Splicing or sistering a damaged joist | £280 – £450 | per joist |
| Whole room of joists and boards | £2,250 – £6,700 | per room |
| Sleeper wall rebuild and ventilationest. | £450 – £1,700 | per room |
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 Dover: questions and answers
What is the price of floor joist repairs in Dover?
Guide prices for floor joist repairs in Dover start from about £280 per joist, including VAT, on South East rates. Your fixed written price follows photos or a survey and depends on the extent of the work and access.
Do you carry out floor joist repairs in Dover?
Yes. We take enquiries from across Dover, including CT14, CT16, CT17, and from nearby places such as Folkestone and Deal. Send photos for a free initial view and we will tell you what happens next.
Does the ground around Dover cause cracking?
North Kent sits on London Clay, central Kent on Gault and Weald Clays and the Downs on chalk, so shrinkable clay is widespread. East Kent around Deal and Dover had a small deep coalfield, worked until the late 1980s. Only an investigation can say why a particular building has moved.
Will my insurance pay for rotten floor joists?
Usually not, because rot, woodworm and gradual wear are standard exclusions. Damage from a sudden escape of water, or a floor that dropped through subsidence, may be treated differently. Check your policy, and tell your insurer before permanent repairs start if either applies.
Do I need building control for floor joist repairs?
Usually not for like-for-like repairs to a few joists, but replacing a whole floor structure can be building work. In Scotland that generally needs a building warrant, and in Northern Ireland council building control applies. We deal with building control where the work needs it.
More repairs we carry out in Dover
Floor joist repairs near Dover
If a floor in Dover has dropped after plumbing or heating work, send photos of any lifted boards and notches, and we will price the strengthening.