Uneaven floors?

Originally Posted By: Michelle Winter
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How does one determine if a home is “crooked” by several inches in a home 24 feet wide? What would be obvious signs of this? What are the causes and solutions? Can this be determined by simply looking, when interior hardwood floors are flat?


Originally Posted By: ecrofutt
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Obvious signs: It doesn’t look level.


Put a golf ball on the wood floor.

Use a laser level.

Use a water level.


--
Erby Crofutt
B4U Close Home Inspections
Georgetown, Kentucky

www.b4uclose.com

Originally Posted By: Michelle Winter
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Wouldn’t there be other signs such as severe cracking in walls, foundation etc?


Originally Posted By: escanlan
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Quote:
Put a golf ball on the wood floor.


I keep several in my toolbox and just used one Friday to verify unlevel floor on Pier and Beam. And I don't golf!!

Michelle Winter wrote:

Quote:
Wouldn't there be other signs such as severe cracking in walls, foundation etc?


In more pronounced cases of foundation stress there can very well be. All foundations have the ability to move a little without discernable signs. When the signs appear then they have moved more than designed for. Some of the signs I look for in the absence of obvious cracks and distortions are:

Outside

1. Frieze boards shifting upward exposing unweathered wall coverings.
2. Same as above but look at bottom of gutters.
3. Wood siding joints that have been caulked - Caulking squeezed out or starting to bulge or stretched out and pulling apart.

Inside:

1. Wallpaper and sheetrock tape in the corners starting to wrinkle.
2. Turn the lights off and shine a light around the walls. It is amazing how many hairline cracks and previously covered signs that will show.
3. While the lights are off stand at the end of the wall and shine your light down the wall and look for unusual bulges. Add this to other signs in the area of the wall to get an idea if a specific area of the house is experiencing movement.


--
Manny (Emmanuel) Scanlan

Knowledge is power, but sharing knowledge brings peace!

Originally Posted By: Jay Moge
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as for the repair, well the usual response would be “contact a structural engineer” but depending on the extent of “shift” or settling a foundation specialist can usually level out a house if the whole thing moved as one. but again “not my yob mang”. icon_cool.gif