Beam Repair: Restoring the Beam That Carries a Section of Your Floor

It depends on how much sound wood is left and what failed. A beam that is largely sound but has lost support at one end can often be restored by rebuilding that bearing point and correcting the post and footing beneath it. A beam that has rotted through or sagged past the point of reinforcement is replaced, because reinforcing wood that can no longer carry load accomplishes nothing. Our free inspection determines which your beam actually needs, and if the beam is sound and the sag is coming from a settled post or weakened joists, we will tell you the beam does not need work.

Moisture is almost always a factor. Across the Piedmont around Charlotte, Greensboro, and the Triangle, humid summers and clay soils that hold water keep crawl space humidity high for months, and a damp beam, especially where it bears on a post or sits in a pocket, softens and rots over time. The same clay swells and shrinks with the seasons, which can settle a support beneath a beam and drop one of its bearing points. Near the coast around Wilmington and Leland, a high water table and salt air raise the moisture load further. On Asheville hillsides, runoff keeps framing damp. The symptom looks similar from upstairs, but the inspection identifies the soil and moisture conditions behind it.

Not by itself. The beam repair restores the carrying member and its bearing, but it does not on its own remove the crawl space moisture that rotted the wood or correct the soil conditions that settled a support. In a Carolina crawl space, a rotted beam is usually telling you the space stays too damp, and a sagged beam often points to a support that gave way in shifting soil. That is why we explain the cause alongside the structural repair and address the failed support as part of the work, so the beam is not set up to follow the path of the one it replaced.

Yes. Because a beam carries a large share of the structure above it, the work is sequenced so the load is never left hanging. The load above the beam is first taken up on temporary support set on sound bearing, the failed beam is then reinforced or removed, and a properly sized member is set and connected to its bearing points before the load is transferred back onto it in a controlled way. Where a settled floor section is being brought back toward level, it is lifted gradually, which protects the plaster, trim, and finishes above.

The price for your home depends on the length and size of the beam, whether it is reinforced or replaced, and whether the posts and footings beneath it need correction. You receive a written estimate after a free inspection.

Example ranges for framing repair work