Kitchen floor evaluation

[rmorella]

I did an inspection for a seller yesterday and in the kitchen there is a slight dip in a section of the floor near a door opening. The floor is ceramic tile. I went into the basement and put my level on all the associated floor joist in this area and they are all level. No indication of any cracks or defects in any of the joists.

After talking with the homeowner (they installed the floor) they mentioned that they may have went thinner on the thinset in this area. It is my opinion that this is most likely what happened...uneven thinset under the tile in this area. They were probably trying to hurry to get the job finished, since they were near the end.

You really can't feel the dip unless you knew it was there and felt for it. It is visually noticable as you walk into the kitchen from the family room. Although, the door trim on the left side was cut too short (it is about an inch+ above the floor). I am thinking that this gap drawers your attention to the floor area where you can then see the dip. I would bet that if the trim went to the floor it would probably be a lot less noticable.

Anyway, the question is, would you refer this for a structural engineer to evaluate?

Thanks for any help.

Ralph

[Joseph Hagarty]

The homeowner suggested that the installation of the flooring may have been deficient.

If no apparant deficiencies are visibly present on the framing and/or subflooring below, further review by a flooring / tile contractor would be reasonable for an initial evaluation.

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Ditto;

It is very easy to create a cupped look in a ceramic tile floor when using a 3/8" notch trowel to spread the thin set material and set the tiles. Especially when done by a homeowner.

Marcel
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[rmorella]

Thanks for the responses. That is what I kind of figured.

Ralph

[David P. Valley]

A sloped floor is not an indication of structural issues. I've ran into many sloped, cupped and unlevel floors and more than half of them are simply from settlement of the house over the years.

Know your structure and what to look for in this situation, before you make the wrong call.

[Blaine Wiley]

Originally Posted by dvalley

Know your structure and what to look for in this situation, before you make the wrong call.

Very good advice.

[Joseph Hagarty]

Originally Posted by dvalley

A sloped floor is not an indication of structural issues. I've ran into many sloped, cupped and unlevel floors and more than half of them are simply from settlement of the house over the years.

Settlement of a Structure may be a Structural concern.

There are many causes for sloped flooring which are indicative of serious structural issues.

[David P. Valley]

Originally Posted by jhagarty

Settlement of a Structure may be a Structural concern.

There are many causes for sloped flooring which are indicative of serious structural issues.

And there are many more that are not. That's why I simply stated...

Know your structure and what to look for in this situation, before you make the wrong call.

[rmorella]

Thanks for even more good advice.



Ralph