slab foundation UNlevelness (New Orleans: houses, buying, home inspection)

[HughSynapse]

Hi, I am interested in buying a two story house (>40 years) on concrete slab foundation. But I suspect the slab is not level anymore. What kind of tools I can buy myself to determine it? Also what is the acceptable "unlevelness" for a residential house. BTW, the house is approximately 2700 sq ft.

Thanks

[Abraham Walker]

What's the anticipated purchase price?

If you are 2nd guessing the slab (which is one of the most important points on the house) you may want need to consult with a structural engineer. This is not a DIY project. I have seen Licensed Home Inspectors with $600 in equipment get the level wrong on a house. I pleaded with you, please get a professional opinion if you have questions. If you need some referral's let me know.

[Aiten]

Originally Posted by HughSynapse

Hi, I am interested in buying a two story house (>40 years) on concrete slab foundation. But I suspect the slab is not level anymore. What kind of tools I can buy myself to determine it? Also what is the acceptable "unlevelness" for a residential house. BTW, the house is approximately 2700 sq ft.

Thanks

Try the marble test: release a small handful of marbles at each corner of the room(s) and see how they roll. A slow inching over is normal, but if you see a mad scramble in one direction then consider calling in an engineer if you're still in love with the property. In a 40+ year old slab house in New Orleans you expect uneven settling, but if there's been a lot of subsidence then the fix will be expensive.

Although you didn't ask about this, I offer this from painful personal experience, make sure you get a separate termite inspection from a qualified termite control company of your choosing, even if the seller has a termite contract in place. It's like a scene from a horror movie when a year after moving in you open up an innocent looking wall and find a teeming metropolis of insects feeding on your house.

[allcladrad]

Sounds like you already know the floor is uneven. So a hand full of marbles dropped in the center of each room will quickly give you an idea as to the severity.

Two situations here, one time shift, good and fixable or continuing, not good and continuing fixes are required.

Start by talking to the owner, Realtor, if involved, and neighbors. Then the city. A home inspection is a good idea in any case, another sets of eyes and they will be looking for others problems.

There are self leveling concrete mixtures that will fix most one time shifts, but the bottom line is to always include the question in the contract so that the owner, Realtor and home inspector are aware of your concerns and have signed off on them.

Abraham brings up a very important point, the value relative to homes that are level in the same area, I paid a small amount for a home that had severely un-level floors, repaired the problem with a 7 figure net result, but I did a ton of homework.

[bustaduke]

Originally Posted by HughSynapse

Hi, I am interested in buying a two story house (>40 years) on concrete slab foundation. But I suspect the slab is not level anymore. What kind of tools I can buy myself to determine it? Also what is the acceptable "unlevelness" for a residential house. BTW, the house is approximately 2700 sq ft.

Thanks

Make a water level.

busta


Making and Using a Water Level

[HughSynapse]

HI, Thanks for all your guys's suggestions. I paid a professional guy and he used some equipments (wires...not water, not laser) and his measurement is that there is a 3.3 inch decline from one corner of the house to the opposite corner of the house. We backed out of the deal because we don't know much about this unlevelness and we have no clue as to how easier it is to fix it or whether it is easy to fix it.

[rburnett]

Slab House + New Orleans = Bad Idea

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Originally Posted by rburnett

Slab House + New Orleans = Bad Idea

Not true. They build on concrete pilings 30-40 ft long, and plenty of them before the slab gets poured. My house was built in 1959 and still level in 1996 when I sold it. If they cut corners on length/number of pilings there can be problems, but the slab itself is not the problem.

[Nico82NO]

I'd get a good house inspector, civil engineer, or structural engineer to look over it. You couspring for a sextant and take some elevation measurements from inside but if you don't know what you are doing that won't help. Oh lol maybe dump a bag of marbles on the floor and see where they roll. I don't know if there is a standard for levelness, but leveling any home can be very expensive.

[rburnett]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

Not true. They build on concrete pilings 30-40 ft long, and plenty of them before the slab gets poured. My house was built in 1959 and still level in 1996 when I sold it. If they cut corners on length/number of pilings there can be problems, but the slab itself is not the problem.

Yes the slab is fine and the pilings(we use wood) won't let it settle, but the house on top of that slab is more than likely below the flood elevation for that area(excluding a raised basement slab). Most of the slab ranch houses were built on former swamps here. These areas are at least 3ft below sea level and have the highest rates of subsidence in new orleans area. Thats why when you see a nice level slab, you will also see the ground sinking around it, which causes problems with underground utilities not to mention flooding. There are plenty of raised houses here that are on more solid ground above sea level.