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I live in a townhouse and the second floor unfortunately has a sunk point right in the middle of the second floor. I unfortunately didn't see it when I moved in and no one else said anything (including the home inspector). I assume if asked they would say they didn't notice it due to the heavy berber carpeting that was down -- which I had removed in favor of pergo.
I did have a structural engineer out but he said I shouldn't do anything until I saw problems such as windows not closing correctly... or cracks. Which I don't have a problem with so far. It has been three years. He says it could just be settling and as long as it is stable it probably isn't worth the effort. My first and second floors are stable and level.
That said, it is worrysome to be checking this constantly... and living in fear. The guy said he thinks the joists just aren't strong enough. If I wanted to pursue it more he would take a part of the ceiling off on the first floor and try to find the problem. He said it could be as simple as the person before me cut into a joist or... not.
Questions:
(1) should I do anything about it. I also fear I won't be able to sell when the time comes.
(2) will insurance cover it? I just can't figure out my condo description of the policy. On the one hand, it says that my condo starts from the basement to the ceiling of the second floor... so that would seem to exclude it but then... says that "beams" and "structural" are common area. Some have suggested that there is a common structure to my unit with another unit and that could be the exception. And in the basement you can see a beam going to the neighbor's property. I also have an condo policy.
(3) would you buy a townhouse with a sunken floor? I suppose the only good news here is that the price point is likely so low there would be a lot of people with this as their only option.
Rather then a cut joist, was the first floor changed from original layout? Could be someone removed a load bearing wall to make an open concept without the proper bracing/header.
Since its a townhouse, you should have neighbors with original layouts to compare to your own.
If you had an engineer examine it, his advice is what I would follow.
If you bought new, the sag would be a concern. Since you apparently bought used, my best guess is that the previous owners had something heavy, such as an old waterbed, a massive weight set, old books, or Tilly the elephant in that room. Over time that weight load caused the deflection. With the load removed, the stress is no longer there.
The compression of wood may have been enough that the deforming is permanent, much like wood that has been bent into curves for skis, barrels, and furniture. As long as there was no splitting, the wood is still sound.
I wouldn't be living in fear. Even if a joist HAD been cut, 16" OC means that the adjacent ones are plenty close enough to keep you from falling to a horrible death in the fish tank on the first floor, drowning in full view of your guppies while Muffy the cat looked on in glee.
As for being able to sell, a lot depends upon the depth of the crater. An inch or even two wouldn't faze a lot of people, four inches would be a turn-off.
I doubt insurance would cover it unless there was a failure.
If you bought new, the sag would be a concern. Since you apparently bought used, my best guess is that the previous owners had something heavy, such as an old waterbed, a massive weight set, old books, or Tilly the elephant in that room. Over time that weight load caused the deflection. With the load removed, the stress is no longer there.
It is the original lay out. Also I have been to my neighbors homes and they didn't have this problem.
The structural engineer gave me his opinion but also opined that he couldn't really tell until he took off the ceiling and he could check it out. (was that just to CYA?) The area with the most sink is where a bed might have been so it could have been a water bed. I do not think it is a massive hole (the engineer didn't really measure it) but it is noticeable.. more so now that I took up the berber rug. The townhouse is 30+ years old.
One other thing.. when I walk across the floor there is a ton of squeaking. It is the same for my neighbor. I know because when she walks on her floor there is a ton of squeaking and noise. She says it is "loose floorboards" is that it?
Last edited by Arya Stark; 08-24-2017 at 04:54 PM..
Squeaky floors are usually the subfloor being loose from the joists. Typical repair is to remove the finish floor, locate the squeak, and drive a (or a few, depending upon how irritated you are) coated nail or screw a deck screw or otherwise secure the subfloor to the joist at the point closest to the squeak, and then replace the finish floor.
The engineer was just being thorough. The squeak is probably the biggest problem you have. Be thankful it wasn't an elephant (the poo buildup can stank).
Trivia - in Japan, squeaky (uguisu) floors were a method of security. They were designed that way so that no intruder could come upon the sleeping owner undetected. Needless to say, Japanese men didn't live long enough to have prostate problems...
The engineer was just being thorough. The squeak is probably the biggest problem you have. Be thankful it wasn't an elephant (the poo buildup can stank).
OK thanks you actually were more helpful than the engineer as he kept sort of throwing doubt into it when now that you have brought it up... it seems very obvious that the most sunk-in area is large enough and in the right place to absolutely have been a water bed. I also jumped on the area last night and it is pretty solid. It didn't feel weak and none of my furniture moved.
One of my rentals has an area in the loft that is sunken a little bit from where a couch was, it was there during the showings is how I know. No signs of any sinking on the first floor below it just the space upstairs. It happens and isn't cause for concern until more serious signs of the sinking are visible, like your engineer told you.
Also it is a perfect example of what can happen when you plop down on a couch so stop it.
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