Hump in finished floor and floor out of level - is this normal?

10 years ago

We are in the final stage of the rebuild of our house. (It was supposed to be a renovation but the old house was in such disrepair that it was impossible to salvage much. We did keep as much of the foundation as was sound.) There is a main beam down the length of the house in middle of the basement ceiling made of steel and LVL. The first floor rests on that beam and the foundation walls. For months I was aware of a bulge in the floor in the vicinity of that beam. I mentioned it to the contractor who said he wasn't worried about it. After enough prodding, he used some kind of leveling material and sanded down the plywood in spots. The hardwood floors were installed and finished. While I didn't know it, my contractor instructed the floor finishers to take a little extra off the center line of the house to minimize the hump. When the floors were finished it seemed fine. However, they used the wrong finishing material and did a terrible job, leaving stop/start/lap marks throughout the floor in a dark material that was supposed to be clear. So I hired another company to remove the first finish, resand the floor and recoat. When they were finished with the first coat, the floors were the color I wanted but there was that hump! In addition, a small section of a hallway was so out of level I felt like I was on a boat. When I discussed this with my contractor he said the second sanding must have put the hump back in and I should have them resand and get it out. The flooring company was unwilling to sand any more. When I pointed out the out-of-level hallway to my GC, he said it was normal to experience some settlement and I can't go around with a level. (I wasn't - except for the level between my ears that knows when something feels off underfoot.) Long story short, my GC insisted it's within "code tolerances" for hardwood flooring. I told him it's not within my tolerances and it has to be fixed, one way or another. So he spent the day in the basement shimming the joists and building stud walls to prop up the joists to even out the sag and slope. He said the beam itself is level but the joists must have shrunk (which makes sense given how they were out in the elements for months). Does this sound right? Is this the way to fix this problem? Should I not expect level and flat floors - without humps and bumps and pitches? How out of level or flat can a floor be before it is not acceptable? In otherwords, do i go looking for someone to come and fix our brand new house?

Featured Answer

abick2

8 years ago

ILoveRed do you mean builder's warranty? Yes, he is giving 2 yrs per contract, but I don't think he will be willing to fix anything at this point unless we take him to court.

Comments (13)

robin0919
10 years ago
Use a golf ball and let it roll where it wants. This will show how bad the floor is out of level. Obviously that won't give you any kind of degree. If I were you, I would hire an engineer to inspect it. I hope you haven't made the final payment to the GC.
abick2
8 years ago
Was your floor fixed? I am experiencing the same thing with our for the most part new construction home and my builder is saying it's normal. The floor is the worst in the master bedroom sagging towards the middle. I am really upset to say the least.
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cpartist
8 years ago
That's not normal abick. A floor should be level, especially in a new build.
Ron Natalie
8 years ago
Not normal but not too uncommon. I bet the hump is over a beam and they were not careful with the contruction practices installing the floor joists.
abick2
8 years ago
I know it's not normal, but what are my options at this point? All the finishes are in we are getting ready for the final inspection.
_sophiewheeler
8 years ago
It's normal in an old house that has settled for years. It's not normal in barely newborn construction. The best option is to find out if the underlying support is truly sound, and that this is ''merely'' settling or if there is an underlying structural problem that needs to be addressed. It isn't in your builder's best interest to discover a problem so late in the game. Hire an outside structural engineer, on your dime.

As for what can be done? Not a lot, unless the support is egregiously poor and actually dangerous. Homes normally settle and get humps and bumps over time. Code minimum homes do that faster. Quirks and settling is what gives homes character. If it's supported properly, claim it as being ''instant character''. And use a better builder for the next go round than the one who touts decorative ''upgrades'' over better than code required structural upgrades.
abick2
8 years ago
Thank you Sophie. Should I have an independent architect look over the plans and recalculate loads etc.? Early in the project we noticed a bow on the first floor and contacted the architect and builder, they agreed to add a metal reinforcement plate over the garage header .75'', which makes me think that the architect underestimated the weight or made an error in calculations. However, I think by that time the house has sagged already :(
abick2
8 years ago
I should also mention that my joists span 24-30 ft, which is another problem.
abick2
8 years ago
When i look at the ceiling in the basement I can see it sloping towards the middle which makes me think all of this was built into the house. There are no cracks or anything indicating settlement. I think that when the house was framed the builder didn't place all of the support in the basement until later, so everything sagged towards the middle of the house.
cpartist
8 years ago
I think Sophie's advice of hiring an engineer is a good one. I would definitely make sure now. Good luck!
ILoveRed
8 years ago
Do you have a home warranty and if so when does it expire?
ILoveRed
8 years ago
As usual, I would follow Sophie's advice.