Flooring is an integral part of a room’s interior design. It has a huge impact on comfort and visual appeal, and it can even contribute to the health of a home’s occupants.
It’s inevitable that your floors will be scratched and dented over time, especially if you have kids or pets running around. However, when these scratches and dents become widespread, it may be time for a full replacement.
1. Unpleasant Smells
Unless your home is filled with pleasant smells like fresh baked bread or flowers, unpleasant odors can be a sign of an unhealthy home. Unpleasant smells can be caused by many things, including garbage, sewage, rotting food and certain chemical odors.
Musty or musty-smelling odors are often a sign of mold or mildew. These fungi create these scents by emitting gases known as microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) as they grow. Mold and mildew are commonly found in bathrooms, basements, attics and laundry rooms – places where moisture is more likely to occur.
In addition to a musty smell, a foul odor may indicate a faulty plumbing system, poor air flow or dirty HVAC equipment. Taking steps to prevent these problems and identifying and eliminating bad smells will keep your home healthier. This includes disposing of trash regularly, keeping up with cleaning routines and using nontoxic odor-eliminating products around pets.
2. Exposed Nails
Exposed nails are not only unsightly, but they also create an open path for water to penetrate into the attic. This can cause a leak that goes undetected for a long time, resulting in wood damage, mold, and more. Often, these nails are exposed due to old-school construction practices that use large roofing nails rather than the drywall screws used in modern homes. Alternatively, these nails may have been hammered through the purlin but missed completely and ended up outside the wall. Regardless of the cause, nail pop is something that can cause alarm for homeowners with heightened *flaw detector disease*.
Nail pop is sometimes a sign of structural issues and should be inspected by professionals to ensure it’s not something more serious. It is a common problem found in older homes and can be a sign of roof leaks as well.
3. Cracks
If you hear water sloshing around or notice cracks in your walls, this is a sign that there’s a serious problem and it’s time to call in the professionals. If you don’t get this issue treated quickly, it can lead to more damage to your floors and other parts of your home.
Most cracks in walls are harmless and are caused by a combination of factors. Some of these include thermal expansion and contraction, humidity changes, vibrations from nearby traffic or even tree roots (particularly fast-growing eucalyptus and leylandii).
Generally speaking, single hairline cracks on interior walls are not a cause for concern. However, if you see several cracks that are forming around a central point or are wider than 1/4 inch, it’s important to have them checked out. Wider cracks may be a sign of severe movement or damage and could lead to subsidence. Also, any cracks that appear above door or window frames should be investigated.
4. Water Damage
Water damage isn’t just unsightly, it can cause structural and health concerns in your home. In addition to visible signs of water damage, like bubbles or flaking paint, homeowners should also watch out for buckling wood floors and a soft or spongy feeling when walking on the affected area of the flooring.
Visible mold or mildew growth is another clear indicator of water damage. These spores thrive in wet conditions and can damage the floorboards and subfloor if left unaddressed for long periods of time.
Unexplained increases in your water bill could indicate hidden leaks under your flooring, too. Leaks that aren’t addressed can lead to rotting and mold growth in your home, as well as higher water usage which can result in high utility bills. Homeowners should check their water meter regularly and use fans or air movers to circulate the air around the affected areas of their home to help evaporate any remaining moisture.
5. Stains
Stains are inevitable, especially in homes with pets or small children. Regular cleaning can help, but eventually, your floors will need to be replaced. This is especially true if the stain won’t come out of your floor or if it’s caused by a stain that’s too deep for refinishing.
Water damage is also a sign that it’s time to replace your flooring. This is because severe water damage can lead to mold. Mold can cause serious health problems for the entire family. Moreover, it can cause structural damage to your home and can be extremely expensive to remove.
Water stains on the ceiling are often the result of a leaky pipe. If you notice a water stain on the ceiling near a sink, toilet or any other plumbing fixture, it’s best to call in a professional plumber immediately to check for a leaky pipe. This can save you the hassle of dealing with a water bill spike in addition to preventing health and safety risks for your family.
6. Damaged Subfloor
If you notice a springy, bouncy feeling when you walk across your floor or the floorboards around you shift and move as you walk on them, it is probably a sign that the subfloor is damaged and needs to be replaced.
It is advisable to Consult an epoxy contractor to provide valuable insight into potential solutions for subfloor damage. Often, you will need to examine the subfloor yourself to get a true picture of how bad the damage is. This might mean heading down into the basement or crawlspace, pulling some insulation and cutting drywall to check out the problem.
It is important to remember that there may be electrical wires or pipes that run under your floors, and it can be dangerous to dig in that area without shutting off any water lines or turning off the electricity first. However, if you are not able to do a more invasive examination of the subfloor, a professional can assess the damage and make recommendations on how to proceed. They can also make sure that any replacement of flooring is properly done so that your new floor will not be affected by the old one.
7. Uneven Floors
Uneven floors may seem like a minor issue but they can actually be a sign that there is a bigger problem with the home. In most cases, uneven floors are caused by foundation settlement and can be fixed using a method called underpinning. This technique involves inserting piers under the foundation to lift and stabilize it from any further settlement.
Unlevel floors can cause a range of problems including uneven or sagging walls, doors and windows that stick, and wood joists and beams that warp. If you notice a sloping or uneven floor in your home, it is important to call in the professionals as soon as possible.
A professional will be able to evaluate the problem and determine the cause of it, which will then lead to an appropriate fix. If the problem is caused by water damage, for example, a plumber will be needed to repair it. If the problem is caused by a sinking foundation, a professional will be able to advise on the best solution.
8. Uneven Walls
Uneven walls can occur when a contractor doesn’t properly prepare the wall for tiling. This can include not using backer boards, not properly mixing the tile compound or even just not taking the time to level it correctly. The result is a bumpy or uneven surface that can affect how well the tiles stick and how they look. It’s a sign that it’s time to find a new flooring professional who knows how to do things the right way.
Uneven floors can also be a sign of foundation problems. This is an issue that should never be ignored or shrugged off. If you notice changes to your floor like gaps in the wood that grow larger over time or bouncy sections of your flooring, call in a structural engineer to help. The sooner you get a solution for this problem, the less chance it will cause serious damage to your home.
