Determining the Crawl Space Wood Beam Replacement Cost

Are you having structural issues and need to determine your wood beam replacement cost? It’s not just a cosmetic issue—your crawl space wood beam holds up your floors. In Charlotte and across North Carolina, crawl space wood beams often fail due to a mix of moisture, pests, and outdated construction. Although is may be tempting to find a way to cut corners and costs, these beams are critical. When they weaken, the entire structure above (your home) can shift or sag.

What is a Crawl Space Wood Beam?

The wood beam (or support beam) has the responsibility for supporting your floor joists, which is normally where the insulation goes, directly beneath the subfloor. These support beams come from wood most of the time, but you’ll find some homes that use concrete or steel. Your home’s crawl space may also have other posts, pillars, and stabilizing piers, all of which serve an important purpose.

Reasons You Need a Wood Beam Replacement

• Moisture and Rot: High humidity and poor drainage lead to wood rot, especially in older homes without encapsulation. Rotting beams lose strength and can’t support your floor system.
• Termite or Pest Damage: Termites and carpenter ants eat away at wood beams, often undetected until serious damage occurs.
• Undersized or Improperly Spaced Beams: Some homes were built with beams that are too small or spaced too far apart, leading to sagging floors over time.
• Foundation Settlement: Shifting soil or settling piers can cause beams to crack or pull away from their supports, compromising structural integrity.
• Visible Signs of Failure: Bouncy or uneven floors, cracks above doors or windows, and musty odors often indicate beam issues.

Signs You Need Your Wood Beam Replaced

Crawl space issues don’t fix themselves. If your main beam is failing, you’ll usually see the signs long before a collapse happens. Here’s what to look out for:

• Sagging or Bouncy Floors
  If your floors feel soft underfoot or dip in spots, the beam underneath may be cracked, rotted, or unsupported.

• Cracks in Walls or Ceilings
  Shifting beams can throw your whole house out of alignment, leading to drywall cracks above doors or windows.

• Doors and Windows That Stick
  When the structure sags unevenly, openings go out of square. Doors drag or won’t latch, windows get jammed.

• Musty Smells from the Crawl Space
  Rotting wood and moisture buildup are usually behind that odor. It’s not just a smell—it’s a sign something’s wrong.

• Visible Damage in the Crawl Space
  If you see cracked, bowed, or water-stained beams—or worse, termites—it’s time to call a professional.

• Unlevel or Sloping Floors
  The beam is there to keep your floor flat. If it’s dropping, the slope tells the story.

These are structural red flags. Waiting too long can lead to more expensive repairs—not just in the crawl space, but throughout your home. Falcone can inspect the beam, identify the root cause, and replace it the right way with American-made materials.

Average Crawl Space Wood Beam Replacement Cost

What do replacement beams typically cost?

The main reason we can’t quote an exact price is that it would depend on the size of your property. Support beams are like everything else in construction, the pricing comes in units of cost-per-square-feet. The other tricky part is that natural wood (if this is what you prefer to keep) has the greatest price variation.

As you may know, lumber costs have been pretty volatile over the last couple of years. While laminated veneer lumber (the least cost-prohibitive) may go for about $3 to $12 per-square foot, natural wood (depending on quality) goes anywhere between $5 to $90 per unit.

Outstanding Warranty Coverage

Of course, whenever we speak of a project of this magnitude, it has to include sufficient warranty coverage. If you find a contractor who won’t offer favorable warranties, then you shouldn’t hire them.

Falcone, however, guarantees a full 30-year transferable warranty for replacement beams. This means the guarantee remains in effect even if you sell your home to someone else.

So, while we can’t really give a specific cost estimate, it is possible to get that when you meet with us personally. Every task we perform involves an initial consultation where you get to meet with our crew and have a specialist look at crawl space conditions. This gives you the chance to ask questions and determine whether a problem truly requires full replacement.

Falcone offers the best workmanship for every job we do. You can also rely on our crews to arrive on time and accomplish the task efficiently.

Contact us today to speak to a representative for a price quote on the cost of crawl space wood beam replacement in North Carolina.