How many elephants can dance in a room before the floor collapses?

October 29, 2009 7:43 PM

Who do I hire to advise and/or reassure me on structural issues in my old house?

I own a house that is almost 100 years old. I love this house and have no plans to move, however some of the floors are slanty and wavy, particularly in the master bedroom, which is directly above the large living room. The living room ceiling plaster has buckled and is bulging and I need to hire someone to repair it. I think the previous owners may have had a water bed in the master bedroom at one point. The living room floor is similarly wavy. The bathroom floor on the first floor slopes and is slightly bouncy. I had a new toilet installed earlier this year and the plumber mentioned that I "probably need to have the floor replaced" but when pressed was vague on the level of urgency.

I have owned the house for 5 years and had it inspected. The inspector recommended several plumbing and electrical updates be made (which were completed), but otherwise did not comment on the sloping floors and ceilings. The previous owners had the house jacked up and the basement foundation repoured, so some of the irregular angles and planes of the house may be due to this.

I'm finding myself increasingly paranoid about the floors caving in my house. I get nervous when I have a group of people over and they are all standing in one room. I keep my bed pushed up against the wall because of the slope in the floor. I confess that some of this might be due to anxiety on my part. As I get ready to hire a person to redo my living room ceiling, I'd also like to pay someone to come over and tell me if my worries are justified and if I need to have some structural work done on the house. Who do I contact to have an assessment like this done?

posted by pluckysparrow to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

When we owned a crooked house, we were able to hire a structural engineer to look at it and advice us. He told us that the dramatic settling couldn't be corrected without damaging the house, but that it was not likely to settle more and that it was sound. I just asked my partner and he can't remember how we found the engineer; it was fifteen years ago.
posted by not that girl at 8:10 PM on October 29, 2009

Structural engineer. Ask for a reference from your Realtor or the attorney who did your closing, if you're still in touch with them.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 8:11 PM on October 29, 2009

Please don't be paranoid. A well-built house can settle and shift a lot in 100 years (depending on the ground beneath) and still be perfectly safe. The floors can slope plenty and still be fine as long as the overall structure is intact.

Please do hire a structural engineer for advice. They will probably charge less than your attorney.

Having the electrical updates done was probably the most important thing for overall safety.
posted by ovvl at 8:25 PM on October 29, 2009

Def. a structural engineer. My dad was a foundation contractor for years, and he was the guy you would call when the engineer told you that you would have to replace the foundation, or risk having your house slowly cave. (But is sounds like the previous owner already did this, so you're probably OK.)
posted by Rocket26 at 11:26 PM on October 29, 2009