Structural repair: frequently asked questions

Structural repairs restore or improve a building's ability to carry its loads safely: sistering or replacing joists and rafters, adding beams, posts and footings, bracing or rebuilding foundation walls, underpinning settling footings, repairing fire, water or rot damage and restoring spalled concrete or rusted steel. Cosmetic repairs to finishes are not structural.

The serious ones are horizontal cracks or bowing in basement walls, cracked or split beams and joists, sinking posts, a sagging roofline and floors separating from walls. Sticking doors and drywall corner cracks are common alone but matter in clusters. See signs of structural damage, and for brick and chimneys, brick wall and chimney problems.

No. Vertical hairline shrinkage cracks are common, but a horizontal crack in a basement wall usually shows bending under soil or frost pressure. A straight pour line from construction can look similar. See horizontal foundation cracks.

Usually not immediately, but they can be. Split or cracked framing, crushed bearings, rot, sag that is increasing or cracking sounds need urgent attention. An old, stable dip over sound framing is usually a repair-when-convenient item. See sagging floors.

Commonly cited limits are L/360 under tile or plaster and L/240 otherwise: about 11 mm and 17 mm on a 4 m span. These are design criteria for new work, so an older floor beyond them is a flag to investigate. Try the Floor Sag Calculator.

Fastening a new joist alongside a weak, cracked, cut or sagging one so the pair carries the load together. It works best full length, bearing on both supports, after the old joist is jacked up. See sistering floor joists.

Look for joists or rafters landing on it, a beam, wall or posts directly beneath it in the basement, and walls stacked above it. Exterior walls are almost always bearing. Only seeing the framing above and below confirms it. See load-bearing walls.

Yes, by replacing it with a beam supported by posts that carry the load down through every floor to proper footings, usually designed by an engineer and built under a permit. See removing a load-bearing wall and LVL vs steel beams.

The downward movement of a foundation as soil beneath it compresses, dries, softens or washes away. Even settlement is usually harmless; differential settlement, where parts drop by different amounts, cracks and distorts the house. See foundation settlement.

Yes. Over-notched or over-drilled joists are usually sistered with a full-length member, or the service is rerouted between joists and the damage reinforced to an engineer's detail. See cut joists and renovation damage.

Yes. Deck failures usually start at the ledger connection to the house, at shallow footings that heave or sink, or at rotted posts and joist ends. Keep people off until it is checked. See deck structural problems.

Assesses structural problems on site, determines the cause and whether it is active, writes letters and reports, and designs repairs with authenticated drawings a contractor can build and a municipality can permit. See what a structural engineer does.

Yes. In Canada, practising engineering or using the title engineer requires a licence from the provincial or territorial regulator where the work is done. There are 12 regulators, including APEGA in Alberta.

A residential site visit and letter typically falls in the $500–$1,500 planning range for 2026; beam or wall-removal designs with stamped drawings about $1,000–$3,500; foundation repair designs more. Get a written fee proposal.

A signed document recording what the engineer saw and measured, their opinion on the cause, whether it is active and what should be done, with stated limits. A shorter version is a site visit letter. See reports and drawings.

Usually, when the work changes how the house carries loads: removed or moved walls, new beams, posts and footings, underpinning and new openings. Like-for-like maintenance may not. Confirm with your municipality. See structural repair permits.

Usually not. The Insurance Bureau of Canada notes that most policies exclude damage like cracking, shifting or settling of a foundation, and insurance is designed for sudden and accidental events. Check your own policy, and see does insurance cover structural repairs.

Often, for a set period. Structural coverage runs 10 years in Alberta and British Columbia, 7 years under Ontario's Tarion warranty and 5 years in Quebec, and it stays with the house when it is sold. See does insurance cover structural repairs for claims, tax and financing.

Planning ranges for 2026 run roughly $1,000–$5,000 for minor repairs, $5,000–$20,000 for moderate work such as a new beam line or wall bracing, and $20,000–$60,000 or more for underpinning, rebuilds or major damage, plus engineering.

Much interior work, such as bracing, posts, beams and some pier installations, can be done year-round. Excavation, concrete and exterior work in frozen ground are harder and may cost more or wait for spring, unless the problem is urgent.

An old, stable sag can be planned. New sag, growing sag or any sag under a heavy snow load is urgent: keep people out of the rooms below and get help. See roof sag, trusses and snow load.

Get everyone out of that area and the rooms below, do not add load, and call a structural engineer or emergency contractor. Call 911 if collapse seems imminent. See emergency shoring.

It can make sense if you learn the cause, whether it is active and the repair cost before your conditions expire. Bring in a structural engineer after the home inspection flags a concern. See buying a house with structural issues.

Yes. Wet wood is temporarily weaker, prolonged moisture causes rot and mould, and flowing water can wash soil from under slabs and footings. Drying quickly limits the damage. See fire, water and rot damage.

No. StructuralRepair.ca is part of HAUSE Home, an independent information and service-request network. It does not perform work or engineering. You can send a request and the desk will reply with next steps and, where available, a local professional.