Have you suddenly noticed that spills on your kitchen floor migrate in a certain direction? Or your children’s round toys always roll a specific way? You might be dealing with sloping floors. The question is, are sloping floors a serious problem or something that you can just learn to live with?
The answer: while you might be able to live with sloping floors, they might be a sign of a structural problem that should be fixed sooner rather than later.
How can you tell? Look at how much the floor is sloping (and is the problem getting worse) and diagnose what is causing the problem in the first place.
How Much Slope is Concerning?
Most homes settle a bit after construction, and minor settlement generally isn’t a significant issue. A slope of less than 1/2 an inch over 20 feet is considered within acceptable limits. If the sloping isn’t getting worse, this minor of an issue is likely caused by small amounts of settlement or a minor construction flaw.
For slopes less than this, simply monitor the situation to ensure it doesn’t get worse. If the slope gets to be 3 or 4 times that amount, however, there is likely a serious issue with your home.
Diagnosing the Cause of Sloping Floors
So how can you tell what is causing your floors to slope? Well, the only surefire way is to have a professional inspect them. There are clues, however, that can help narrow the cause down.
What Type of Foundation Do You Have?
Each type of foundation supports your floors in a different way, especially the main level.
For instance, a slab foundation is particularly susceptible to settlement or heaving induced sloping floors, where the foundation slab either settles (sinks) or heaves in certain areas because of problems with the soil beneath it. Because the floors is ultimately supported by the slab, the floor will slope.
Plumbing leaks below the slab can also washout soil, causing settlement as the eroded soil can’t properly support the home.
With a pier and beam or other crawl space foundation, a few more options open up. If one of the piers has sunk or degraded to the point where it can’t provide adequate strength in supporting the beams and floor joists, the floors will likely sag at that point, causing the floors to slope toward it.
Wood rot in damp crawl spaces can also weaken the beams and joists themselves. As the floors are poorly supported, they will begin to sag and slant.
Basements are kind of a combination of the two. The same problems that impact the slab foundation can affect the basement slab, with settlement or heaving causing it to slope. And because the first floor is supported by beams and joists in the basement, if wood rot impact these structural materials, it can cause sagging or sloping floors just like with crawl space foundations.
Can You See (or Smell) Visible Signs of Problems?
If you have a basement or crawl space foundation, look for signs of problems. Is a pier or post crumbling? Do you notice signs of wood rot or mold on the beams and joists? If so (and if it matches the area where the floor is sloping) you have likely found your culprit.
Have You Made Any Major Changes to the House?
Sometimes changes being made to your home can cause slanting floors. If a load bearing wall was removed or weakened, for instance, the floor above might slope.
Similarly, if you have placed more weight than the floor substructure can comfortably bear in a section of the floor, it might begin to slope toward that spot.
When to Worry About Sloping Floors
A number of signs are particularly worrisome when they accompany sloping floors:
- The slope appears suddenly or gets worse.
- It is more than 1 inch over 10 feet.
- It is accompanied by cracks in walls, sticking doors, or gaps at baseboards. Basically any of the other classic signs of foundation failure.
- You have noticed other problems in your basement or crawl space.
Need a Professional to Look at Your Sloping Floors in Oklahoma?
At Pierman, we are foundation experts, period. If your sloping floors are caused by foundation or water-related issues, our team will be able to accurately diagnose the cause and prescribe repairs to fix the root of the issue. Contact us to learn more.
