Prospective house purchase - sloping floor?

[davidjpowell]

JR said:

Nish said:

However, the floor in the living room has a slope. It is largely level but over the last two feet from the external wall it slopes downwards.

If there aren't any cracks/distortions in the external wall then it's probably

russ_a said:

I have just fixed a slopping floor which was due to rotten floor joists.

Nish said:

What would be the best way to proceed?

Well, if it's rotting floorboards then a good surveyor will pick it up in a thorough survey. If it's due to movement in the wall then you'll need a structural engineer's report. If you're struggling to see any cracks/distortions in the outer walls then you're probably OK to go for the surveyor; if you've missed the defects in the wall he'll recommend a structural engineer's report.

Sometimes these decisions aren't easy.

A surveyor is unlikely to pick up the cause of this, particularly if there is no cracking - would recognise the symptom obviously. A surveyor will not lift carpets, so rotten joists or timbers unlikely to be spotted. Would be asking for either Structural Engineers report or Timber Report, depending on where they feel the problem is.

Have a look for cracks, particularly around windows doors and on gable walls. Have a good bounce on the sloping bit. If you are a certain size it will give some idea of whether there is weakness in the joists. Try not to go all the way though if they really are rotten!

[zaphod42]

JR said:

So what would you call it?

Poor initial build quality?

[JR]

zaphod42 said:

JR said:

So what would you call it?

Poor initial build quality?

1930s semi, I'll give you 1" for very poor build quality, that leave 5" of settlement unless the initial build was the other way which would mean 7" ...

[russ_a]

Cost me about £1 to fix as a friend gave me the timber and joist hangers.

The only problem is fixing why the joists have become rotten. To be honest I'm not 100% sure what caused the damage, we think it was condensation from water pipes attached or lack of air circulating.

Either way I'm not too concerned as the timbers are 90 years old. The pipes were installed in 1972. So if they last 20 years it's fine.

When we purchased the house we had a full survey plus a structural survey (house had a subsidence claim in 1982) both surveys spotted the slopping floor but neither would lift the floor boards.