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one side of house is slanting 3/4'

13 years ago

I am looking at this house, which I love, but the left side of the house is slanting 3/4". I took a level and checked it out. The previous owner put $57,000 into the basement in the past 5 yrs. It is all braced, guaranteed lifetime waterproofed. The real estate broker said it has been that way for YEARS.... it was built in the 1940's.

It has been on the market now for 5 months and no one is putting bids on it. I called the constractor who fixed the basement and he said that the previous owner spared no expense to do things right in the basement. He said it is sound. Still scary though, please advise. Could the floors been like that for years? There are NO cracks anywhere in the house, and it is plaster.

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Comments (4)

woodfloorpro
13 years ago
It's possible the foundation settled early on and the owner who spared no expense on the basement also repaired the plaster cracks. There is a good chance the house is finished settling but I would have it carefully inspected before buying.
stephanie56
Original Author
13 years ago
No, it's older plaster. Ceilings are in great shape too. I was thinking of contacting a structural engineer. Some of my family members walked in and said "is this the "FUN" house?" Is 3/4" a big deal?
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echoflooring
13 years ago
3/4 of an inch is not a big deal. It is common to foundation shifts in older homes. In our region where some homes are 200 years old, it is common. The contractor told you it is fine, it probably is. There would be signs all over the place if it was still moving. I personally would not waste my money on a structural engineer. Common sense in that home will tell you by looking around on the 1st floor and 2nd floor if it has one. Good luck.
msgreatdeals
13 years ago
My house is 20 years old and built on the hillside. We are the original owners. There were 16 semi custom homes built at one time. My house is leaning forward and has shifted on one side. The leaning forward bothers me most as the doors will not stay open. Most of the homes have been repaired. (pumping massive amounts of concrete under the house). We have not done any repairs and if you were to come into our house, you would never know there is a problem. There is one window I can't open and the slider in the family room can only open about 1/2 way. The insurance company gave us more than we paid for the house and let us keep it.:-)Just about all of the movement happen in the first 8 years. I would pay for a engineer to check it out......then you might be able to get a better deal on the sale! :-)

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