Maghull · Merseyside
Floor joist repairs in Maghull
If a plumber or electrician has recently had the boards up at your Maghull 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£240per joist inc VAT
- Postcodes
- L31
- Population
- about 27,000
- Area
- Merseyside
- Pricing region
- North West
What is the ground like in Merseyside?
Maghull is in Merseyside and takes in postcode districts L31. About 27,000 people live there. If you are just outside Maghull, we also cover Kirkby (3 miles), Fazakerley (4 miles) and Ormskirk (4 miles).
Parts of Merseyside have clay that can shrink near trees in dry spells. Parts of Merseyside lie on a former coalfield, so a coal mining search is worth checking if movement has no obvious cause. Across Merseyside, most homes are Victorian terraces and villas, inter-war council estates and post-war semis.
Repair options we may recommend
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
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
What to expect when we carry out floor joist repairs
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.
Is it time for floor joist repairs? Common signs
- Floor dipping towards an outside wall or in the middle of the room
- Floor bouncing, or ornaments rattling, when someone walks across
- A gap opening up between the skirting board and the floor
What should you budget for floor joist repairs in Maghull?
The ranges below reflect typical North West 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 | £240 – £385 | per joist |
| Whole room of joists and boards | £1,900 – £5,750 | per room |
| Sleeper wall rebuild and ventilationest. | £385 – £1,450 | 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.
Your floor joist repairs questions
What is the price of floor joist repairs in Maghull?
Guide prices for floor joist repairs in Maghull start from about £240 per joist, including VAT, on North West 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 Maghull?
Yes. We take enquiries from across Maghull, including L31, and from nearby places such as Kirkby and Fazakerley. Send photos for a free initial view and we will tell you what happens next.
Does the ground around Maghull cause cracking?
Merseyside is mostly sandstone with glacial till on top, with soft coastal deposits in Sefton and the Lancashire coalfield extending under St Helens and parts of Knowsley. Old docks and industry left made ground in places. Only an investigation can say why a particular building has moved.
Is a sagging floor dangerous?
A gentle, long-standing sag is usually not dangerous, and many older floors have moved slightly over a century. A sag that is getting worse, soft boards or a floor dropping near a wall needs checking soon, because rotten joist ends can lose their bearing.
What causes rot in floor joists?
Damp causes almost all joist rot. Joist ends in damp walls, voids with blocked air bricks, leaking pipes and high outside ground levels keep timber wet enough for fungi to grow. Replacing timber without fixing the damp usually means the rot returns.
More repairs we carry out in Maghull
- Brick arch repairs
- Crack stitching
- Resin injection ground stabilisation
- Mining subsidence repairs
- Retaining wall repairs
Floor joist repairs near Maghull
Got a bouncy or sinking floor in Maghull? Send a short video of someone walking across it, and we will tell you what it is likely to need.