would you buy a house with sloping floors?

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

this is a cross post from flooring forum. I saw a lovely house that has almost everything I want except it has multiple areas on the second level where hardwood floors are sloped. I would say it is mild to moderate and localized to some parts of the house . The house was built in 1960's. The doors all seem to fit in the frames fine. Any thoughts? If these floors are indicative of a structural problem, I will walk away from this house ASAP and not give it a second thought!

Featured Answer

Linda

10 years ago

lots of homes built prior to 1900 have sloping floors, its part of their character. I would wonder why a house built in the 60's has sloping floors. Is it structural? Sloping floors in a house of that age is not common.

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Comments (8)

littlebug zone 5 Missouri
10 years ago
When DH and I bought our first house many many years ago, we bought a cheap older home because that's all we could afford. The kitchen floor sloped. It drove me crazy. Just like a picture hanging crookedly on a wall, I absolutely couldn't stand it. DH, on the other hand, was completely unaffected by it. Yes, I am OCD. To this day, I can tell immediately if a floor is unlevel just by walking on it.
St561 W thanked littlebug zone 5 Missouri
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pkpk23
10 years ago
House built in 1752- almost all floors slope and some quite a bit. Foundation structurally sound and plaster intact so I'm not worried. I would wonder about a 1960's house with sloping floors- certainly find out why they slope.
Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
10 years ago
Would I buy it. No! We had a chance to purchase one about 3 years ago, but my husband is in construction and there is no way he would have any of that! He's the one who loved the location of the house, but we still talk about that slope! I'd walk around thinking I had one too many Margaritas!
Elmer J Fudd
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
I wouldn't but to be sure, talk to a structural engineer or general contractor. Not an onsite inspection, just a short conversation to get their quick opinion.
ricemonster
10 years ago
We just bought a craftsman house built in 1910 and almost all floors except the upstairs slope but not bad. When the inspection was done, there were no problems with foundation so we are not worried. Like Linda said, it's pat of their character.
schreibdave
10 years ago
I would expect a house from the 60s to have level floors. The fact that it doesn't means that something is wrong. How wrong? Probably hard to know without opening up walls and or floors. I would be really concerned about buying somebody elses problem.
share_oh
10 years ago
We bought a little foreclosure home last year built in the early 1900's. I call it our pre-retirement home as we'll be saving a ton of money living there. My husband tore out a lot of the walls but left the floors - ugly hardwood that we put carpet over. There's a definite slope in the living room in one spot. I got used to it. My husband says nothing in the house is square! It's a challenge to hang curtain rods or pictures - they're level but the wall meeting the ceiling is not!

A house built in the 60's though might deter me from thinking the slope added character!