Floor sagging in the middle

W

WJG

New Member
I've just moved into a rental property and I've noticed the floors sagging in the middle, on the first floor (and some cracks on the exterior wall). Before moving in, I was also advised that the chimney needed to be removed as it was starting to tilt. I've addressed this with the landlord, but he doesn't think it's an issue.

I'm concerned that something could be wrong, but it could just be me being paranoid.

Would anybody be able to confirm whether my concern is valid? I've attached a few photos showing the tilt of the drawers in my bedroom, due to the floor sloping (although it's a little hard to see) and the cracks in the wall.


83e562b4-1b14-410e-8291-35601578c94c.jpg 783d932c-e388-44ea-b917-a8155ab873cf.jpg e483b76f-6fc7-49d6-a16d-ed26072b114e.jpg f83d92ad-3be5-42d1-b7a8-722371baa76f.jpg Floor.jpg
 
How old is the property? Is the alcove with drawers an upstairs bay window? Who was suitably qualified enough to comment on the chimney that they couldn't have commented on the floor or anything else with a degree of certainty?

The photos don't show anything obviously damning, the walls could be out of plumb making the floor look worse than what it is and the cracks are nothing to worry about. Unless you can feel something's wrong when you walk over the floor or can visibly see the chimney falling away then there's not much to get your landlord to take you seriously. Pull the carpet back and have a look at the state of the floor underneath, run a straight edge across the sagging area and measure the dip. If you really have concerns then a Chartered Building Surveyors report would be the definitive word on the matter however it will cost you.
 
Thanks for your help. In answer to your questions, I believe it was built 1920 - 1940 and the chimneys were removed by a builder before I moved in, as they had developed an obvious tilt. The area upstairs isn't a bay window (it's the same layout downstairs).

There are a few things we've noticed since moving in:

  • Flooring sagging in the middle in both bedrooms (it's definitely uneven - and can be felt as you're walking through both of them)
  • Creaky and bouncy floors throughout the house, including the ground floor.
  • Cracks on the exterior and lots of hairline cracks on in the interior.
  • The grouting on the tiles in the bathroom seems to have cracks.
  • Presence of lots of small flies in the living room that seem to have come from nowhere.

As I say, it could just be me being paranoid (as I've lived in a lot of houses before and not seen anything like this), but I've got a 2-year contract here and I want to make sure it's safe for my family and that the floor isn't going to suddenly give way.
 
Subsidence?

One way to check if this problem is going to get worse is to fill the cracks in and see if they appear again, or measure the width of them, and check monthly.
 
I'm presuming that if it was subsidence, we'd get a few major signs before anything big happened?

I wasn't worried about it whilst looking around as it wasn't something that I noticed (particularly as the house had no furniture on viewing). It's only since moving in 2 weeks ago, that we've started noticing this.

One other thing to mention is a wall has been removed between the living room/kitchen to create an open-plan space (picture attached). Whilst it looks the upper floors are supported, I wonder if this could be causing it? There's also a weird dip in the ceiling coving (picture attached).

Ceiling1.jpg Ceiling2.jpg
 
The coving dip is just where a wall has been removed and a piece of coving has been fitted and tried to blend in to fill the gap. There are probably several tenants before you who experienced no problems.
 
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