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Floor Repair: A small room may cost between $6,500 and $10,500 to replace its flooring, depending on the materials used, the room’s size, and other factors. If the damage goes underneath the flooring, you could have to tear it up and replace it, which would cost you much more money.
If you just discovered that your flooring is damaged, the first thing that undoubtedly crosses your mind is whether to fix or replace it. The answer depends on various elements, including the kind of flooring you have, the degree of damage, and if you wish to hire a flooring installation business to assist with the repairs. Here, we’ll explain how much money you may need to spend on repairs or replacements and what you need to know before purchasing flooring.
Average Flooring Repair Costs
- Surface Repairs $100 – $500
- Structural/Subflooring Repairs $500 – $1,000
- Structural/Floor Joist Repairs $6,000 – $10,000 + Cost depends on square footage.
Surface, subfloors, and joist repair costs
Cost of surface repair
You’ll be better off fixing your flooring than replacing it if your floor is superficially damaged. While replacing a few boards can cost as little as $200 on average, a simple floorboard repair that involves refinishing the surface (which may be required with problems like scratches, sun fading, and minor water damage) can cost between $3 and $5 per square foot.
Comparison of Surface Repair Costs
- Refinishing a tiny area’s surface$300 – $500
- Refinishing the whole room’s surfaces$1,500 – $2,500
- repair of a small area’s floorboards$600 – $1,000
- Replace all of the floorboards in the room.$3,000 – $5,000
- Prices are based on a room of 500 square feet for the entire space and 100 square feet for a small portion.
Cost of subfloor repair
You should anticipate a significant rise in prices if the subflooring is damaged.
Describe subflooring. The flooring the contractor places underneath your natural flooring to support it and provide a uniform surface is often constructed of PCB or plywood. Water in some form is usually involved in damage to the subflooring, which often results from leaks (think appliances or plumbing), gaps in the flooring or the outside of your property, and excessive humidity.
Each room will cost between $500 and $700 to have the subfloor repaired. Replacement expenses are more like $2,500.
Repairing a subfloor costs
- little portion of subfloor restoration$100 – $200
- complete room’s subfloor restoration$300 – $400
- tiny area subfloor replacement$400 – $500
- replacement of the whole room’s subfloor$570 – $720
- *Prices are based on a room of 500 square feet for the full space and 100 square feet for a small portion.
Cost of Joist Repair
You could consider joist replacements if your house is flooded or has other significant damage from water or pests like termites.
What Are Joists?
Below the subflooring, there are horizontally oriented planks called joists. They were put in while your house was being constructed.
These sturdy planks sustain the whole weight of the space above them and are fastened with bolts into a long piece of wood called a sill that runs along the walls. A broken joist should be repaired as soon as the issue is discovered since they are essential to a house’s structural integrity.
There are two key reasons why floor joist repair costs vary so much: First and foremost, you won’t have to repair the flooring above the joists if a contractor can reach your damaged floor joists from below (for example, from a basement or crawl space, or a lower level of your property).
Second, repairing sister floor joists is far less expensive than replacing them. Sistering is fastening a second joist to the injured one next to it to provide further support. Compared to replacing the original posts, this repair, which may cost between $100 and $300 per joist, is a huge savings.
The most expensive kind of joist replacement involves the use of jacks. This process, which lifts your house off the broken joists using steel jacks, is complicated and hazardous, and it should never be tried as a do-it-yourself effort.
The cost of replacing the external electricity meter box
Cost of Floor Repair for a 500-sq.-ft. Room
- Cost to sister floor joists $100 – $300 per joist
- Cost to replace floor joists $6,000 – $10,000+
- The Cost to replace floor joists and jack required $20,000+
Cost of hardwood floor repair
In high-traffic areas, surface damage to a hardwood floor, such as stains and scratches, is typical over time. Depending on the magnitude and severity of the injury, the Cost of repairs might vary from $5 to $25 per square foot. Water damage, rot, and swelling brought on by high humidity are among the hardwood flooring problems. Your floor may need to be replaced entirely to address these concerns or simply a single piece.
Cost of Floor Leveling
Hard surface flooring, such as tile and hardwood, often needs leveling. Your flooring may develop gaps and uneven surfaces if your floor isn’t correctly leveled.
Sometimes, the issue may be resolved using a liquid, self-leveling substance akin to concrete. This reasonably easy DIY project won’t cost much ($0.50 to $1.50 per pound), and you can finish it independently. The floor above it, however, will still need to be replaced.
Seeking a structural engineer for more significant problems is recommended since floor joist problems might have serious consequences. When floor joists are leveled, the restoration is often as easy as sistering the beams. As indicated, the price for sister floor joists ranges from $100 to $300 per joist.
In other situations, the underlying structure may deteriorate and need replacement, a considerably greater task. This repair may cost as much as replacing floor joists, costing between $6,000 and $10,000 per room.
Repairing a Sagging Floor: Cost
Sagging is one of the frequent causes of a floor that is no longer extended level; the Cost of leveling is comparable to the Cost of correcting a sagging foundation.
Water damage, decay, disintegration of the subfloor and floor joists, or even a problem with the home’s foundation may all cause sagging. Sagging may be a simple DIY project for minor issues requiring subflooring.
Depending on the cause of the problem, more considerable difficulties come with a heftier price tag. If your floor is sinking and you’re wondering how much it would cost to fix it, consult a reliable contractor or structural engineer to identify the cause and scope of the problem.
The right time to replace wooden floors
Undoubtedly, one of the most durable forms of flooring is wood. However, if you find that the floor is beginning to seem faded or worn, it’s a great indication that it’s time to consider replacing your hardwood flooring. If your hardwood flooring has started to feel soft to the touch, has gaps between the boards, or is flaking or cracking, you should replace it immediately. In these situations, you are advised to contact your flooring contractor immediately. They can assist you in making the right flooring replacement decision.
Whom Should You Employ to Replace the Joists and Subfloors?
You don’t have to live with damaged flooring, but they may often make your home seem insecure. Therefore, the specialist you should contact may vary depending on why your floor was destroyed and the required repair. An authorized general contractor can assist you in resolving simple problems. If there are more severe problems with your subfloors, joists, or foundations, your best action is to contact a structural engineer or foundation expert.
Editorial team members consulted various providers and cost databases at the national and local levels to get the average charges in this article. All averaged numbers were accurate as of publishing but are subject to change.
Questions and Answers
Sagging floors: are they harmful?
Your floor may be sinking. Do not worry! Although not often an indicator of impending danger, sagging may reveal underlying issues like uneven subflooring or rotten joists. To identify the source of the problem, have a local carpenter, general contractor, or even foundation expert evaluate the floor.
Should I hire a professional to fix my floor or do it myself?
If you are confident in your abilities and have previous expertise with this kind of project, there’s a strong possibility you can do this work alone if you have surface floor damage. But remember that even little tasks must be completed carefully to prevent clumsy flooring.
It could be a good idea to engage a contractor for peace of mind, mainly if the floor damage is in an evident and high-traffic area. A professional is unquestionably the best option for any problem involving subflooring or deeper layers, such as floor joists, since these tasks may affect your home’s structural stability.
What is the cost of fixing creaky floors?
Find out the cause of your flooring’ squeaking first. The most frequent causes of squeaky floors are uneven subflooring, shoddy construction, and water damage from floods, major spills, or humidity.
Another significant contributing element is the foundation sinking that might occur over time as a house matures. The typical price to repair a squeaky floor ranges from $200 to $1,000, depending on the reason.
Should I have my hardwood floors refinished or replaced?
Refinishing or replacing your flooring is a difficult choice that extends beyond the project’s expense. Deep gashes, buckling or splitting boards, and heavily scuffed surfaces may be much improved by refinishing, but these issues cannot be resolved. The best course of action in these situations is likely repair or replacement.
It’s also essential to consider how satisfied you are with the flooring. If you have oak flooring throughout your home but want a sleek, dark, ultra-modern design, spending your money on new flooring might be wiser so you may enjoy it for many years.
How can hardwood floors be protected from water damage?
There are various techniques to prevent water damage to your hardwood floors, including:
Apply a sealer to your floor to keep it dry and to provide a barrier between scratches, polyurethane, and wood glue.
- Spills should be cleaned immediately by blotting them with a dry cloth.
- Put mats at the entryway to help dry off muddy boots.
- Keep wet things off the ground to protect your floors from moisture damage.
