Melton Mowbray · Leicestershire
Floor joist repairs in Melton Mowbray
Houses in Melton Mowbray and across Leicestershire with suspended timber ground floors rely on dry walls and a ventilated void to stay sound. When either fails, rot usually starts at the edges of the room long before anything shows in the middle.
Guide price from£245per joist inc VAT
- Postcodes
- LE13, LE14
- Population
- about 28,000
- Area
- Leicestershire
- Pricing region
- East Midlands
What should you know about the ground under Melton Mowbray?
Melton Mowbray (LE13, LE14) has around 28,000 residents and sits in Leicestershire. If you are just outside Melton Mowbray, we also cover Oakham (9 miles), Mountsorrel (12 miles) and Loughborough (13 miles).
Leicestershire has a mix of ground, with clay in some places and firmer rock in others. Parts of Leicestershire lie on a former coalfield, so a coal mining search is worth checking if movement has no obvious cause. What you mostly find across Leicestershire: Victorian terraces in Leicester and Loughborough, inter-war semis and large post-war estates.
Guide prices for floor joist repairs in Melton Mowbray
For Melton Mowbray we use East Midlands rates. Treat the table as a budget guide, inc VAT; the price you pay is the one on your written quote.
| Item | Guide price | Per |
|---|---|---|
| Splicing or sistering a damaged joist | £245 – £390 | per joist |
| Whole room of joists and boards | £1,950 – £5,900 | per room |
| Sleeper wall rebuild and ventilationest. | £390 – £1,450 | per room |
Methods for floor joist repairs
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
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
From first photo to finished repair
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.
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.
Relay and ventilate
Boards are relaid or replaced, skirting refitted and air bricks cleared or added outside. We point out anything that would let damp back in, such as soil heaped against the wall, so the repair lasts.
Symptoms that point to floor joist repairs
- A gap opening up between the skirting board and the floor
- A musty smell, or fungal strands showing between the boards
- Floor bouncing, or ornaments rattling, when someone walks across
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.
Frequently asked questions
How much will floor joist repairs cost in Melton Mowbray?
Guide prices for floor joist repairs in Melton Mowbray start from about £245 per joist, including VAT, on East Midlands rates. Your fixed written price follows photos or a survey and depends on the extent of the work and access.
Do you cover Melton Mowbray?
Yes, Melton Mowbray is covered, along with postcode districts LE13, LE14. We also cover nearby Oakham and Mountsorrel.
Is the ground in Leicestershire prone to subsidence?
Leicestershire has Mercia Mudstone, Lias clay and glacial till across much of the county, with the Coalville and Swadlincote coalfield in the north-west. Clay soils near large trees can move with the seasons. 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.
Other structural repairs in Melton Mowbray
- Resin injection ground stabilisation
- Roof structure repairs
- Underpinning
- Boundary and garden wall repairs
- Subsidence insurance claim repairs
Floor joist repairs near Melton Mowbray
For a guide price on floor joist repairs in Melton Mowbray, use the quote tool or send photos of the dip, any soft boards and the air bricks.