The unlevel floors are driving my husband nuts

4 years ago

Hi -- I'm hoping someone in the Boston area sees this and can tell me a professional they worked with to level the floors in their aging, settling home. We've called a few people, but most won't come to give us a quote because they say people usually pass when they hear the cost. It's a hardwood floor in the kitchen area on the second level of our home that is not level due to past settling. TIA

Featured Answer

User

4 years ago

This is why threshold reducers are used. It lets you transition the different levels in different rooms.

You need a report from a structural engineer before you worry about cosmetics here. If the main support beam for the house is 4” low, and collapsing, you need to know. If it’s still in place, and it’s the supports on either side of it that have settled 1/2” or so, then that’s an entirely different issue to deal with.

Without knowing the root cause, and prognosis, your husband doesn’t have enough information to make himself nuts. Once the information is known, then you can plan a course of action. You may not be able to afford your chosen course of action, and decide that the “improvement” isn’t worth it.

Unless the structure is compromised, it mostly isn’t worth it. You just need to accept that you live in an old house, and that better finish carpentry is needed in order to deal with those normal issues. Scribing everything is an art.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

PRO
User
4 years ago
What’s the most that you’d be willing to pay for this? 20K? 60K? 100K? 150K? It involves structural adjustments, and rebuilding a lot of unknown things.

As long as a structural engineer has given their blessing about the support, live with it. Flat is essential. Level is not.
Kelly thanked User
SJ McCarthy
4 years ago
I think Cook's Kitchen has made the case for a structural engineer to 'give their blessing'. The next question is HOW OLD is the home, what is the foundation and how much are the floors 'out of level'?

Settling is 'acceptable' until it becomes unacceptable. That's where the structural engineer's report comes in. Once you pay for the assessment, you can decide to move forward (or not).

First things first: structural engineer's report.

Use the report to show to prospective builders (ahem...you go to them for this chat). Once they see what the report says, they can then decide to offer a quote or to offer a pass.

Be prepared to LOSE the kitchen and the floors. If you are not prepared for that type of eventuality (and the report comes back as benign settling) then you will probably have to live with it.

Dealing with settling comes from UNDERNEATH. What ever is underneath (ceilings, carpets, drywall, etc) could be severely disrupted (ie...partially destroyed to the point of needing refinishing...ie. new ceiling/drywall/paint/carpet, etc). Support is added from underneath and sometimes on the sides (exterior walls...imagine if they are bowed to the point where they need restructuring....holy sheep ship Batman!).

Now imagine the WORST CASE scenario: everything is sooooo out of wack that the supports underneath the second floor cause the wood floors to crack, the cabinets to break and the counter tops to crack! Door jambs no longer sit properly and doors need to be trimmed and rehung!

And then you see cracks in the paint/drywall/ceiling of the second floor. Whoa Nelly! Now we are in DEEP SERIOUS.

Ok...so I've pointed out some of the WORST CASE SCENARIOS. This is playing the "What If..." game. You need to be PREPARED to go all the way down that rabbit hole.

If you are not prepared to go 'all in', and the engineer's report is benign, then leave it be.
Kelly thanked SJ McCarthy
Related Discussions
My piano drives the person below nuts...
Q
Comments (16)
You are right, no need to argue your point because this is a discussion silly. No, I never tried the Roland HP 237 but Classical music? Their are certain pieces that just require bravado but they are not key banger pieces, especially when you know your neighbor is bothered. Sorry, I assumed you were playing rock or rap or something loud like that. Best you can do, besides changing your time of playing, is to buy a few bathroom rugs, and layer them. Bathroom rugs because they have a rubber backing and they have more fiber than say a kitchen put in front of your sink rug. Try two then move up to 3 or 4 if need be. It should at least help and might help enough that your neighbors shut up. What also might help, since sound travels so well in your building. Take off the head phones, and turn the volume so it is a fraction of a notch above the key noise. Your neighbors might stop complaining if they can hear the music when they can't sleep. Or they might complain more, you never know until you try. I had teenage boys living above my bedroom and I didn't complain about them playing music, I complained about the thumping base at all hours. Their Mom put a rug under their base speaker and at night they turned down the base down a few notches between 9pm and 6am. When I couldn't sleep I could still hear their music, and that was fine, but it never woke me up if I was sleeping fine.
...See More
diy HUBBY driving me nuts!
Q
Comments (10)
The husband thinks that 3/4" plywood with wonderboard over it is enuf for 12"x12" tumbled marble tiles because our joists are closer than newer construction (don't ask, i forget). Sorry, but if I'm gonna help you, I GOTTA ask. I need to know the size of the joists-- width and height, as well as the unsupported length, and the on center spacing. One thing I'll tell you for sure, though-- you need more than just 3/4" of plywood for natural stone, or the first time will just be "practice". Further, he thinks we should do the walls (subway tile) first, before the floor (Whaaaaa?) He's right. You don't want to work on top of finished work any more than absolutely necessary. If you want to see the wall tile come down on top of the floor tile, then leave the bottom course out, install the floor, and then install the bottom course. Personally, I rather just install the walls, installe the floor, keeping a uniform joint, and then caulk one to the other.
...See More
Brother in law's wife driving me nuts
Q
Comments (36)
I couldn't say whether the OP's sister-in-law is rude, but judging by the OP's responses to other posters, she could sure use a few hours of charm school. It's not possible to control the direction a thread might take. This is a forum and that means discussion - sometimes people discuss things you'd rather not talk about. Tough noogies! I want my house to feel friendly and I hope my friends and family feel welcome and comfortable. I have nice and new expensive furniture. So what! When you visit me, go ahead and put your feet up on the coffee table, sit back, take a sip of your coffee or wine and let's have a nice chat.
...See More
BM is driving me NUTS!!
Q
Comments (32)
"My exhusband was a good father who adored his children, who shared a strong belief in attachment parenting, and who worked hard but made it clear to his employer that this family came first. He rocked the babies, read bedtime stories, cooked, took them places like the grocery store to give them extra one-on-one time, went to all their school events" This would be YOUR opinion or idea of what a good father is. Someone else may think a father that was a good provider or good role model is just as good a father. Like I said, it's a matter of each person's opinion or expectation of what a good parent is. "Just wait until you get Alzheimer's and turn into a cranky, paranoid old woman who doesn't recognize her own grandchildren, and your children start to whine about how you have abandoned them and how your behavior at that time negates all of the good you have ever done in your life. Oh wait - Alzheimer's is a disease, and mental illness is - according to you - no more than a moral weakness." Perhaps someday I will have Alzheimer's but it doesn't run in our family, but I guess I might get it. I would hope that my kids are learning that in our family, we value family. They see me taking care of my step mom. They see me bathe her. They see me feed her through a feeding tube. They see me clean her trach so she can breathe. They see me administer her medication so she isn't suffering in pain. They see me clean her when she has a bowel movement. They see me bandage her sores and brush her teeth and cover her up so she doesn't get cold. Now the example that they get from me is that children take care of their parents when the parents need them. Hopefully they will learn from what they see me doing. They hopefully learned through my example that I set as they were growing up, that parents don't abandon their children. It might have been easier for me to dump them off with a grandparent all the time so I could have a life. I didn't run from relationship to relationship, having multiple men in their lives. (the oldest was 3 when I had the youngest and I was alone except the 7 years I lived with my exBF) I did everything to keep my family together as they were growing up. At times, it might have been easier to run away or let someone else raise them, but I was always there for them. So, if I were to get Alzheimer's or some other disease and need care, I don't think my children would feel that I've abandoned them. I can't say for sure, but they have had a mom that has struggled at times with depression and I've always been here for them and I guess if I chose to leave them instead of dealing with my depression, they might feel like I abandoned them and might think I'm a bad parent. I don't know because I never did that. (and btw, under your philosophy, my mom was an excellent mother when we were young, but that didn't stop her from the things she did. Just because she took good care of us as babies doesn't mean she's a good parent because she bailed on us anyways. Blame alcohol or depression, but she chose to do the things she did instead of getting help)
...See More
Lyndee Lee
4 years ago
First action is to determine why the floors are unlevel and then decide if this is an ongoing issue. If the settling is finished and the contributing factors have been addressed, then you can begin to determine what action is needed to level the floors.

If the house is solid and not continuing to move, you can have the floors leveled as part of a gut and rebuild full kitchen remodel. At that point, you can remove everything including the subflooring, add height by adding to the existing floor support in appropriate amounts and then start rebuilding from the subflooring up.

Alternatively, if the damage is continuing or stems from an unstable foundation, you end up working on the entire structure from the ground up and that adds up to major money in a hurry. That is the situation where windows and doors and plaster walls have to adapt to the work and hopefully will still function without major investment.

Either way, it is an expensive situation and unless it is a structural concern, leave well enough alone unless you are planning a major remodel
Kelly thanked Lyndee Lee
PRO
G & S Floor Service
4 years ago
We serve the Boston area. How uneven are the floors? How old is the kitchen?
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
4 years ago
It doesn't take an engineer to level floors. A competent General Contractor can do the job. If he thinks he needs an engineer, he'll hire one. Engineers are subs on jobs like this.

Undulating floors are part of the character of an older home. If the floors in your 200 year-old-home have been wavy for 150 of those, I wouldn't worry. Consider moving please.
Kelly thanked Joseph Corlett, LLC

The unlevel floors are driving my husband nuts

User

Comments (6)

User

SJ McCarthy

Related Discussions

Lyndee Lee

G & S Floor Service

Joseph Corlett, LLC

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US