House on a slope from front to back

You need to find a particular kind of inspector, as this is out of the ordinary. You need someone who can figure out if the foundation has settled, and the house fell with it, or the foundation held, and the structure of the home gave. By asking around like you are doing, you are taking the best, first step. The structural engineers I deal with just aren’t savvy enough to figure out the above, although they can draw a proper set of plans to fix it?? That doesn’t mean there aren’t other inspectors/engineers with more experience in older houses. if you are truly correct regarding a group of houses that were built as a group, and probably shared a foundation, then there is a better than 50-50 chance that the foundation (all the foundations) have settled. If it hasn’t moved in the last 50 years, then it probably is stable. Make sure you check the rear wall, to verify that it doesn’t slope down towards the front instead. We see that all the time, and it is sidewall/front& rear wall movement. If you wait until you find a plumb house in Brooklyn, you will wait forever. Post more details please.

brucef

in Inspection 12 years and 9 months ago

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stephanie | 12 years and 9 months ago

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I’m interested in a 100-year-old frame house. Unfortunately it slopes from front to back. It’s definitely noticeable. The other frame houses in the row also slope in the same direction. Will a house inspection be able to tell me why the house is sloped? I realize it could be from settling many years ago but of course I’m more worried about structural issues. Thank you.

BobMarvin | 12 years and 9 months ago

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“I’m more worried about structural issues”  THAT”S exactly why you get an inspection. I don’t think a home inspection is especially important for minor maintenance  issues, but it’s vital for discovering problems that could be a deal killer. In all liklihood the sloping is just normal settling, but you need a professional opinion.

jeanmarine2 | 12 years and 9 months ago

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Our brownstone slopes from front to back as do others on our line of brownstones.  In front you can walk right in; in back, there’s about 3-4 steps worth of going down to get to the garden area.  Same with our neighbors.  Obviously built on a downward slope.  We’re the first in a long row of attached limestone/brownstones, and on the other side we’re attached to the first in a row of about 6 attached brick houses, and they have about 3 steps up in front to a raised entrance, and about 6 steps in back down a deck/porch to their garden, so I guess it’s the whole block where we live.