diff --git a/ui/jquery.ui.core.js b/ui/jquery.ui.core.js
index 1ca2c6f699d..aed64dd8be9 100644
--- a/ui/jquery.ui.core.js
+++ b/ui/jquery.ui.core.js
@@ -225,6 +225,11 @@ $(function() {
 	var body = document.body,
 		div = body.appendChild( div = document.createElement( "div" ) );
 
+	// access offsetHeight before setting the style to prevent a layout bug
+	// in IE 9 which causes the elemnt to continue to take up space even
+	// after it is removed from the DOM (#8026)
+	div.offsetHeight;
+
 	$.extend( div.style, {
 		minHeight: "100px",
 		height: "auto",