Slope Of The Floor Old House

In most cases the mild sloping of floors in old houses is a common and natural occurrence caused by the aging and deflection of wood.
Slope of the floor old house. The floor in any room should also not slope beyond 1 240 th of the width of the room. For example in a 100 year old house we may not pay much attention to moderate floor slopes but if the same house has a new bathroom with large cracks in the wall tiles we know that the movement has recurred or worsened since the new bathroom installation this may be a problem. For rooms that have a general slope the issue may be foundation problems that require the assistance of a. There s a full basement with low ceilings less than.
Floor slopes and slants are common in old houses. Although most floors slope it is important to know how much and why. Unless the ground drops 2 to 3 inches for every 10 feet away from your house s foundation you may have drainage trouble. Except for that slope the floor itself might be flat.
However if the second floor slopes along with the first floor then there could be a more serious structural cause such as foundation damage or settlement. I am a real estate agent involved in the sale of a two story house that has sloping floors and ceilings on both the ground and upper levels. If floor sloping is limited to the first story of the house that is there is no corresponding slope to the 2nd story floor then the reason could be missing support posts and damaged joists. The average person can sense if a floor slopes 1 inch in 10 feet and sloping floors or sagging floors are often one of the warning signs that structural engineers look for when analyzing a house.
Foundation issues deteriorating wood supports especially sills which rest on the foundation footer improperly installed joists or sub floors and other issues can all cause a floor to slope or sag. A slant slope situation might be one where over the course of 15 or 20 horizontal feet the floor slopes down one or two inches.