Subfloor Repairs in Melbourne's West — Bearers, Joists & Framing

What holds your floorboards up

Think of the subfloor as three tiers. At the bottom are the stumps, passing the load into the ground. Laid over them are the bearers, the big timbers that bridge each gap between stumps. Resting across the bearers are the joists, closer-spaced and lighter, and the boards are nailed down onto those. A weakness at any tier comes through to the floor you walk on.

It is easy to blame the stumps whenever a floor goes spongy, and sometimes that is right. Just as often we find good stumps and failing framing above them.

What framing problems feel like

Framing faults have a different character from stump faults. Watch for:

• Bounce in the middle of a room, particularly when someone walks past heavy furniture.
• Soft spots that give underfoot, often beside showers, washing machines and kitchen sinks.
• Creaks and squeaks that have grown louder over the past year or two.
• A dip between two otherwise level points, which usually means a bearer or joist has sagged.
• Crumbly, mouldy or stained timber visible from the subfloor hatch.
• Old fixes such as bricks, offcuts or wedges jammed under bearers.

Damp, salt and the western subfloor

Moisture does the most damage. Leaking shower bases, dripping pipes, overflowing gutters and garden beds built up against the walls all let water get under the house. Timber that stays wet for long enough rots, and the rot usually begins where the bearer touches the stump.

Ventilation matters just as much. Many cottages in Footscray, Yarraville and Williamstown have had their subfloor vents covered by later concrete paths, decks or extensions, so the air underneath never dries out. Homes in low-lying parts of Altona, Seaholme, Williamstown and Brooklyn, and those close to Kororoit Creek, can have a high water table and damp ground for much of the year.

Close to the bay, salt adds to the problem. Salty air and moisture speed up corrosion of nails, bolts and metal straps under the house, and can attack concrete and steel over time. That is one reason we look closely at fixings, not just the timber, on homes in Williamstown, Seaholme and Altona.

What a framing repair involves

Depending on what we find, the work can include:

• New bearers where the old ones have decayed or cracked, with props holding the floor while the swap is made.
• New or doubled joists where sag or rot has set in, the fresh timber bolted or nailed beside the old.
• Adding stumps where bearers span too far and the floor bounces between supports.
• Refixing connections between stumps, bearers and joists.
• Improving ventilation by unblocking vents or adding new ones where paths and decks have covered the old ones.
• Fixing the water source, or pointing you to a plumber where a leak is the cause.

Borers and termites

Older hardwood framing can carry signs of borer damage, and termites are present in parts of Melbourne. We are not pest controllers. If we spot mud tubes, hollow-sounding timber or similar warning signs, work pauses and we suggest you get a licensed pest technician in first, so the new framing is not put straight back into harm's way.

Doing framing work with a reblock

When a house is being reblocked, the framing is fully exposed and easy to reach. That makes it the most cost-effective time to deal with tired bearers and joists. If you are planning new floors or a kitchen renovation, it also makes sense to check the framing first, so you are not laying new surfaces over timber that will need replacing within a few years.