We repair rotted joists, sagging floors, failed insulation and settled piers before a crawl space gets sealed and left alone. Structural work always comes first.
Eleven winters of moving boxes to higher ground, and this January the floor was bone dry through a week of steady rain. The crew laid plastic over everything, hauled the spoil out by bucket and swept up each evening. Marcus explained the cove joint problem in a way that finally made sense.
Two other companies wanted to tear up my entire basement floor. These guys looked at it and said the water was coming through two cracks, injected both, and charged a fraction of what I was quoted elsewhere. Two wet seasons later, still dry. They diagnosed instead of selling.
The musty smell in our bedrooms is completely gone, that alone was worth it. Humidity went from 78% to 47%, the floors are noticeably warmer through the winter, and our PGE bill dropped. Honestly did not expect the energy difference.
Our kitchen floor had been bouncy for years and I assumed it was just an old house. Turned out three joists had rotted at the sill. They sistered them, set proper piers, and the floor is solid for the first time since we bought the place.
Excellent work and the water intrusion is completely resolved. Only reason for four stars is scheduling slipped by about a week during the November rush, though they were upfront about it and knocked something off the invoice.
Called at 6am during an atmospheric river with water coming in. They had someone here before nine to look at it and did not gouge me on emergency pricing. The permanent fix went in the following week and I have not thought about the basement since.
They did the structural work first and then sealed it, and explained exactly why that order mattered. Another company had quoted just the liner, over rotted joists. Glad I got a second opinion. The house sold without a single crawl space comment from the inspector.
They came out, spent forty minutes, and told me my problem was a downspout dumping straight against the foundation instead of into the drain line, a $40 fix I could do myself. Did not try to sell me a thing. When I do need real work done, there is no question who I am calling.
Ninety-year-old house that had never had anything done to it. They worked straight through January in the rain, which I did not think was even possible, and kept the site cleaner than I expected. Clear pricing and written moisture readings at the end.
One corner of the house had been sinking for years and I kept putting it off. They found the cause during the inspection, explained push piers versus helical piers in a way I actually understood, and the door that never closed right now shuts like new. Wish I had called sooner.
Sagging floors, soft spots underfoot, or dark, damaged wood in a Portland crawl space all call for an inspection. Some of these problems are structural. Others come from moisture that has not reached the framing yet, and telling the two apart is the first step, not a guess made from the top of the crawl space entry. The nine signs a house shows first is a good place to start if you are not sure which one you have.
Crawl space repair covers the framing itself: joists, beams, sill plates, and the posts or piers holding the floor up. Different homes show damage in different spots, and the right fix depends on what someone actually finds once they are underneath the house looking directly at it.
The inspection that answers those questions is free, and it comes with a written scope before any work starts.
Floor joists and beams carry the weight of the floor above. Moisture that sits against wood long enough weakens it, and rot at a joist or beam lowers how much weight it can safely carry. Not every dark or stained joist needs replacing. We can reinforce some once we fix the moisture source.
A bouncy or uneven floor often points back to the joists, beams or supports below it, though settlement can play a role too. The exact cause depends on what an inspection finds underneath, so the fix should follow the diagnosis, not come before it.
The sill plate sits on top of the foundation wall, and the rim joist runs along the outer edge of the floor framing. Both sit close to the ground and the foundation, which puts them in the path of moisture first. Damage here can affect how the floor is supported along the whole perimeter.
Support posts and piers hold sections of the floor up between the foundation walls. A post that has settled, leaned or worn out can let that section of floor drop. A stack of temporary blocks is not the same as a properly set, load-rated pier.
Long-term moisture exposure causes most of the damage found in a Portland crawl space, whether it shows up in a joist, a beam, the subfloor, or the framing near the sill. Replacing damaged wood without fixing the moisture that caused it can let the same problem come back.
Ground moisture, rainwater that drains toward the house instead of away, a slow plumbing leak, or high humidity in the crawl space can all keep structural wood wet. Repeated wetting, not one single event, usually leads to damage.
Wood generally needs steady moisture before decay becomes a real concern. Framing that stays damp for long stretches can break down over time. Mold and wood decay both come from moisture, but they are different problems.
Older framing, a past repair that was not built to hold the load, or parts that were undersized to begin with can all show damage sooner than newer, properly sized framing. Age alone does not mean a part is unsafe.
Soil under a pier or footing can shift over time, which lets that support settle or move. When one support moves more than the ones around it, the load transfers unevenly across the floor, a common cause of sagging.
Sistering attaches a new piece of lumber alongside a damaged joist to restore its carrying capacity. It works when enough sound wood remains at the bearing points. Where the loss goes too far, we replace the joist instead.
A weakened beam can sometimes be reinforced or partly repaired, and other times needs full replacement. We support the structure during the work either way, matched to the actual load the beam carries.
We remove and replace deteriorated sections of sill plate or rim joist, tied back into the surrounding framing so the repair carries load the way the original framing did. We fix the moisture source at the same time.
We replace or add to damaged or settled supports where the structure needs it, set on a footing sized to actually carry the load. The goal is a permanent support, not a stack of blocks that needs attention again.
A sagging floor can involve the joists, the beam, the supports, or more than one at once. The repair plan fixes whatever is actually causing the sag, not just forcing the floor back up.
We remove wood that has decayed past the point of reasonable repair and replace it with new structural material. We check the surrounding wood too, since damage rarely stays in one spot, and we fix the moisture source so the new wood does not fail the same way.
Crawl space repair fixes damaged structural parts: joists, beams, sill plates, support posts, and framing that moisture has already weakened. It answers whether the floor above is actually sound.
Crawl space encapsulation focuses on moisture control: a vapor barrier over the ground, sealed walls and vents, and humidity management. It answers a different question, whether ongoing dampness is going to cause the next round of damage.
Some homes only need one or the other. A crawl space with no structural damage usually just needs moisture control. A crawl space with rotted framing needs the structural work first, since a liner over damaged wood only hides the problem. Many homes need both, done in that order. Where the structure is sound and moisture is the remaining concern, crawl space encapsulation is the service that fixes it.
Continued moisture exposure, ongoing movement, or an unfixed support problem can let existing damage spread further into the framing over time. Leaving an active moisture source in place rarely improves the outcome.
An unfixed joist, beam or support problem can allow more movement in the floor above it. That can show up as flooring that separates, doors and trim that go from sticking sometimes to sticking constantly, and general comfort problems in the rooms above.
Repairing damaged framing without fixing where the moisture comes from can mean the same repair is needed again later. Depending on the cause, that might mean grading and drainage work, or [crawl space encapsulation](/crawl-space-encapsulation/) once the structure is sound.
The inspection that gives you a price is free. The proposal after it is a fixed price in writing, not an estimate that grows once the crew shows up. 0% financing runs for 18 months on any project.
Get My Free Written EstimateWe look at the joists, beams, sill plates and supports directly, checking moisture along the way, to see exactly what is carrying load and what has lost the ability to.
Where a section of floor needs support before repair work can continue safely, that support goes in first, whether temporary or permanent.
Each damaged piece gets sistered, reinforced or replaced, whichever restores capacity for that specific part. Sound material stays in place wherever it reasonably can.
We do a final check of the completed work, clean up the crawl space, and walk you through what was done, including any moisture advice and your warranty documents.
Choosing a contractor for crawl space repair comes down to 2 questions: is the problem still solved in 10 years, and is the company that promised it still answering the phone. We have been answering since 1994. Portland homeowners pick us for 4 reasons, listed below.
We carry an active Oregon contractor license, bond and insurance, so you can check us out before you let a crew into your basement. Since 1994 we have waterproofed 9,800 properties across the city of Portland.
We are a Portland business, not a national franchise. We know this ground, from flood silt on the east side to hillside seepage above Burnside, because we have already dug into it.
Every technician is our own employee, background-checked and trained on our own systems. We test, measure and diagnose before we quote, and we cancel proposals regularly once the real fix turns out to be a downspout extension.
Every system carries a lifetime warranty that covers labor and materials, not just parts. It transfers once to the next owner at no cost, which turns a wet-basement history into a selling point instead of a repair bill.
We seal your crawl space floor and walls with a 20-mil vapor barrier, insulate the rim joists, and hold humidity under 55%. A damp dirt crawl space becomes clean, dry space you can actually use.
Explore Service
Basement waterproofing, basement crack repair, crawl space encapsulation and crawl space repair for homeowners inside the city of Portland, Oregon.
Explore Service
We inject epoxy or polyurethane resin through the full thickness of your foundation wall, not just the surface. The repair is structural, and it carries a lifetime no-re-leak guarantee.
Explore ServiceVisible signs, such as bouncy or sloping floors, doors that no longer latch, sagging in the framing, or soft, dark timber, can all point to structural damage. These signs alone do not confirm the cause or how bad it is, so the only way to know for certain is to have the crawl space inspected directly.
Often, yes, when the cause is damaged or inadequate joists, beams or supports. The exact result depends on what is actually causing the movement, so the repair plan follows the inspection instead of guessing the cause first.
It depends on how much sound wood is left. A floor joist (opens in a new tab) with enough intact material at the bearing points can often be sistered, which restores its carrying capacity. Where the damage goes too far, or the loss sits at a critical bearing point, replacement is the safer option.
If there is no structural damage, encapsulation for moisture control is usually enough on its own. If there is structural damage, repair comes first, since sealing a liner over damaged framing only hides the problem. An inspection tells you which situation fits your crawl space.
It depends on how much damage the inspection finds. Crawl space repair in Portland starts at $1,850, and the final number depends on how many parts are affected, access, and whether moisture correction is part of the same job. The full Portland pricing breakdown covers what moves that number, and a written estimate follows the inspection, not a guess made in advance.
It depends on how much of the crawl space needs work. A localized repair can finish in a day, while a larger job covering multiple structural parts, or one that includes moisture correction, takes longer. We confirm the timeline once we know the scope.
Usually only for access and to check floor levels. Most of the work happens from inside the crawl space itself, and in most jobs families stay in the house the whole time.
Often, yes. Sistering a sound member alongside the damaged one restores capacity at a fraction of the cost of replacement. Where the loss is too great, or where the girder itself has failed, we replace it, and we will show you exactly why.
Need Crawl Space Repair? We Are Always Ready
Our crew is one call away. We know how stressful this gets, so we run 24/7 emergency dispatch across Portland and give you a fixed price before any work starts.
Portland ZIP codes we cover
Water in the basement, a foundation crack you have been watching, or a crawl space nobody wants to open. Get a straight diagnosis from Basement Waterproofing Portland, with fast response, fixed pricing and workmanship guaranteed for life across the city of Portland.
