Beam repair: restoring the main member that carries a whole section of your floor

Beam repair restores a primary load-carrying member in your floor framing, the beam or girder that the joists rest on, when it can no longer carry its load. A beam transfers the weight of a whole run of joists to the support posts and foundation, so when it softens, rots, or loses a bearing point, the floor above sags. The repair re-establishes the beam's ability to carry that load, either by reinforcing the existing beam and rebuilding its bearing or by replacing it, and it corrects the supports beneath it so the load path from your floor down to the ground is sound again.

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 rather than patched, because reinforcing wood that can no longer carry load accomplishes nothing. Our free, no-pressure 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 instead, we will tell you the beam does not need work.

Moisture is almost always part of the story. Across the Piedmont around Charlotte, Greensboro, and the Triangle, humid summers and water-holding clay soils 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 soil and moisture story behind it is what we identify during the inspection.

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 rather than forced, which protects the plaster, trim, and finishes above.

There is no flat price, because cost depends on the length and size of the beam, how much load it carries, crawl space access, whether the beam is reinforced or fully replaced, and whether the support posts and footings beneath it also need correction. A short, accessible section sits at a very different point in the range than a long primary girder with compromised bearing. Rather than quote a number online, we provide a written estimate after a free, no-pressure inspection of the beam and its supports, and financing options are available.

Let's take the first step toward a healthy home.

A local specialist will inspect your foundation, walk you through the findings, and send a clear estimate. no cost, no pressure.