Building standards have changed significantly, and many Chesapeake homes were built before modern structural guidelines were in place. In older homes, support beams may be undersized or support posts spaced too far apart, especially in crawl spaces that were never engineered for long-term durability. This places additional stress on the floor system and increases the likelihood of sagging as the home ages.
Homes more than 50 years old may also contain materials that were never intended to perform indefinitely. Builders often relied on wood shims to level framing during construction. Over time, these shims compress or deteriorate. At Acculevel, we replace failing wood shims with steel shims to prevent compression and improve load distribution.