Supplemental Beams & Jacks in Amelia Island, FL
Amelia Island floors, back on solid footing.
The heart-pine framing in a Fernandina home is often still sound, but the supports under it have shifted. New steel puts the load back where it belongs.
Supplemental Beams & Jacks in Amelia Island
Why Amelia Island homes need this, and how we do it
Many Amelia Island homes were framed in heart pine that is still strong today, but the supports under that framing have moved over the decades. A century of added plumbing and ductwork often got run straight through the floor system, notching joists and girders where they should have been left alone. The wood is good, yet the load path has been chipped away, so the floor sags.
We put the support back with steel. New adjustable jack posts on concrete footings take up the settled lines, and a supplemental steel or engineered beam carries the spans that lost their bearing. Where a joist was cut too deep for plumbing we sister and reinforce it so it can hold again. The lift is slow so the old heart-pine floors upstairs stay tight.
South-end additions built on shallow support get special attention, since those tend to drop away from the main house. When we are done the floor is carried evenly, the bounce is gone, and you have a written record of exactly which supports we added and where.
What’s included
The whole load path - not just the soft spot
Every supplemental beams & jacks we do in Amelia Island, FL follows the same checklist. We support the framing that failed and the framing that is about to. A typical beam and jack scope includes:
- Elevation readings across the floor to find the real low point
- New poured concrete footings sized to the load and the soil
- Adjustable steel jacks set plumb and shimmed to bear evenly
- Supplemental beam under long or undersized joist spans
- Rotted or split posts, girders and joists replaced or sistered
- A slow, staged lift so plaster, tile and trim are not shocked
- Photo documentation before, during and after
What we won’t do
We will not stack blocks or shim on bare dirt, we will not crank a jack fast enough to crack your ceilings, and we will not put new steel under wet, rotting framing without telling you the moisture has to be dealt with as well.
What to expect
Four steps, start to finish
Free inspection
We read elevations across the floor, check every post and girder, and find where the support actually failed.
Written plan & price
You get the jack count, the beam length and any framing replacement itemized at one fixed price, with financing options.
Install, usually one day
Our crew digs and pours the footings, sets the steel, and brings the floor up in measured stages.
Walkthrough & warranty
We show you the after photos, re-read the elevations with you, and hand over the workmanship warranty in writing.
Supplemental Beams & Jacks in Amelia Island
Questions Amelia Island homeowners ask us
My Amelia Island home has that old heart-pine framing and the floor feels off, is the support shot?
Heart-pine framing lasts a long time, but the supports under it shift and rot, which throws the floor off. We set steel jacks on concrete footings and add a supplemental beam under the span to bring it back level, working from the crawlspace.
Somebody cut into my floor system over the years and now it sags, can that be fixed?
Yes, past work that cut framing or moved supports often leaves a span weak and sagging. We add a supplemental steel beam and adjustable jacks on new footings to carry the compromised run, and it firms up in about a day.
The supports under my old island house look like they've moved, why would they do that?
Over decades the ground shifts and old posts settle, so the supports wander out of position and the floor follows. We reset the load on steel jacks over concrete footings and a beam, all from underneath, and the floor steadies right up.
Can you work around my original heart-pine floors so I don't lose them?
For sure, we do this from the crawlspace so your heart-pine stays right where it is. Steel jacks on footings and a supplemental beam under the sag do the job without touching the floor above, usually in one day.
My floor has a weird dip where a wall used to be, what's going on under there?
When a wall or support gets removed, the span above loses what was holding it and starts to dip. We add a supplemental beam and steel jacks on concrete footings to replace that lost support and level the dip back out.
“After a free inspection they found rotted wood posts under our 1920s house and replaced them with steel jacks and a new beam. No more bounce in the living room floor. Honest, on time, and they treated our old house with real care.”
Free inspection · No obligation
Find out what's really happening under your Amelia Island home
We measure, photograph and explain what we find - then give you one fixed written price. No pressure, and no obligation to book anything.
- Free inspection with a written report
- Fixed price before any work starts
- Our own trained crews - never subcontractors