How Worried Should You Be If Floors Are Uneven?

Quite a few homeowners, particularly those who have bought or inherited an older building will sometimes notice that when they walk around, they can feel divots, lumps or even a slanted underfoot. In some cases, you can even see that something is not right let alone feel it.

There are a lot of different factors that can cause a floor to feel uneven, some of which are the relatively innocuous result of decades of constant floor traffic, however others are a sign of a much bigger, more significant potential problem with the foundations.

Exactly how worried you should be will depend on the circumstances, but if it is bothering you at all, then calling experienced builders and structural experts will either diagnose the issue or give you peace of mind.

Sometimes a sloping or sagging floor is simply the result of improper installation, and in that case, it is simply a matter of taking up the carpet, parquet or flooring surface, reinstalling the floorboards or sub-floor correctly and putting everything back.

Sometimes an additional floor levelling compound is poured into the area to fix the issue, but in either event, it is a relatively simple and affordable task.

What is more of a potential issue, and typically is the case if the entire bottom floor has developed a slant, is that an uneven floor could potentially be the result of poorly constructed or poorly maintained foundations.

This would require more specialist solutions and a thorough inspection of the foundations by a structural expert.

There are ways to fix the foundations depending on how serious the damage is, which involve either filling space below the foundations or using hydraulic machines to essentially lift the foundation and build a stable platform below it.

Sometimes this can happen if the ground the house is built on top of shifts, although in most areas this is unlikely since the ground is heavily compacted before any foundations are laid.