I have a house with crooked floors. It drops about 1.75′ from wall to wall. Is there a way to fix this?
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You can install sleepers, sheath the sleepers with underlayment/ plywood and then install a new floor of your choice to level it ($$$). This will however create a hollow area under the floor which will echo all footsteps.
Here, in the Northeast we call floor slope "character" or "charm".
F
There he goes—one of God's own prototypes—a high powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live and too rare to die.
—Hunter S. Thompson
from Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas
I am a classsic diy. I do what I can and then call the pros for the rest. so what is a sleeper?
Well, welcome to BT, first off.
You might want to click on your own name in blue up there at top left; or click the "update profile" in dark grey at top center. "We" can sometimes help more if "we" know a bit more about your location, skills, etc. (slightly different advice if you are a banker, than, say, and electrician, for instance).
You describe the drop as about 1 3/4", that's good info--but over what length of span? 1 3/4" in an 8' bathroom is a little bit different than across a 26' garage or 20' living room.
You used the term "crooked," is the lsope uniform, or does it change from room to room?
Now, I happen to think that a little bit of "roll," "slope," or "uneven-ness" adds character to a house. It sounds, though, like you are finding this an excess of "character." Is that accurate?
Oh, what sort of house is it? Slab-on-grade, wood floor over crawlspace and/or basement, etc.?
Hope that does not muddy the waters too much.
The span is about 16'. It is a old house over a hundred years. It is a three story building in Philly. I think a building next to it burned down and during the new construction I believe they dug out to close to my house and the foundation shifted. which by the way as far as I can tell was made of round stones. Anyway the whole house has a slope.
and the foundation shifted. which by the way as far as I can tell was made of round stones. Anyway the whole house has a slope.
Ok, that helps.
Now, we have some folks in the Philly area (this is cool feature to check out: http://www.frappr.com/breaktimemembers), who might know better. But, if your foundation has been undermined, then you very well may need "mud jacking" (if not in the method described).
Most of 2" in 16' is definitely a bit more than 'normal' character--which does not mean a person could not get used to it; even if it's a bit like being on a listing ship a bit <g>.
If the foundation has settled that much, though, you'll need engineering to create someplace to "start" from to get things back to level (pushing down on a settled or undermined foundation is only likely to make it push down farther--but only an engineer on site could say yes or no for sure).
Note that the amount of change you are talking about is very likely to create a 'cascade' of other changes. You will for sure have plaster to repair (which can turn into a never-ending story of "just a little bit more"). Two inches of change could also mean having to reconnect electrica, plumbing, and mechanicals, too--not cheap by half. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you shouldn't level the place--only that you have your eyes open on how big a project this could be.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
What's the world coming to? First the politicians are crooked, and now the floors.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
I thought politicians and floors were always crooked?What's the floor sag affecting? Does all your furniture slide into the center of the room every night by morning? Baseboard look bad? Scribe to fit, using a wider base if you can. Try a base shoe.
if you would have levelled the floor in that room how would it affect other areas in the house? (hallway, other rooms) What caused the sagging floor? Structural failure?
Footings sagged? Can you bring the floor up? (adjustable steelpost/beam). Are your outside walls all the same elevation? (check with transit)
I have worked on homes in SanClemente Ca that had problems like this. The correct fix was to jack up the house and pour a new footing under the existing slab. I believe the correct term was called "mud jacking".
The people I worked for just wanted the quick fix. Usually set cabinets a litlle out of level, taper the base, and tweek the crown height reveal to make it sorta work. Those types of jobs are even harder to than the right way
I live in phillly in a row home and the outside walls touch my neigbors. I don't think mud jacking is an option.
What part of the city. Migh not be your house.Might be the ground under it.
Just south of South St. Graduate Hospital area. I know I have heard of other areas where the ground had a lot of ash in it that that was the problem with foundations. i don't think that is the problem here.
There is a great Q&A piece in FHB #137 about fixing bouncy out-of-level floors. I used the method in a house I owned in CT and it worked slick. I removed all the beautiful old floor boards and carefully mapped exactly where they went. Then I ran strings along the two walls at the ends of the joists. I sistered new joists to the old ones (glued and nailed) using the strings as guides. Then I put T&G OSB over the new joists, and put the old flooring back down. The result was a floor level in one direction and off just 3/4-in. in 12 ft. in the other direction...much stronger floor and the slope was barely noticeable. It was a lot of work, but well worth the effort. Good luck...
Are you the crooked man with a crooked stick who walked a crooked mile?
Does the house have crooked windows and crooked doors?
Just wondering....
No