Bedroom floor sinking!

[DIYnumptyclown]

Hi everyone

for a while, I've been feeling a slight draft when sitting in bed. I've discovered that there is a gap between the laminate flooring and the skirting board. Both were laid last year; the board on top of the skirting (so no beading).

The draft is becoming stronger and tonight I was on my hands and knees with the torch, investigating further. It appears that the gap is getting larger; enough that you could slide a £1 coin. This gap is only partially along the skirting/floor.

The other complication is that the bedroom floor isn't level; only discovered when the laminate was laid and at the time wasn't too bothered. Now, I'm worried that the joist (I think that's the term) aren't fully supported?

Do I have a problem and who should i call in. Don't really want to pull up the floor (although click flooring). Should I be worried? Any advice greatfully received. I often lurk on this site, so know that someone maybe able to give some advice. Though I love DIY, I don't do any, so please be gentle.

Many thanks.

 

[big-all]

has there been any walls removed in the rooms underneath ??

 

[DIYnumptyclown]

Hi big-all, thanks for the 'early' reply.

The wall underneath which is the front reception/hallway wall hasn't been removed.

I've also noticed that the bedroom door sticks and has very faint hairline cracks emanating from the top of the door frame which are also replicated outside (if you get my drift).

The floors on the upstairs landing which run into the smaller bedroom are also uneven and you can 'feel' it when you walk from the hallway into the small room. The paranoid in me thinks i've got subsidence but I haven't seen any tell-tale signs like cracks on the outside wall.

Do you think I should get a builder in?

thanks.

 

[Burnerman]

May I suggest that you carefully monitor the situation first - even if it means applying some filler and then seeing if it starts to split....this will at least give you some idea that the building is on the move, or whether the shrinkage is just historic.
Curiously enough, there are reports of property issues of late, due to the very high water table - i.e places that haven't had any problems before.
John

 

[tony1851]

Hi everyone

for a while, I've been feeling a slight draft when sitting in bed.

Button-up your pyjamas.

 

[big-all]

have you had a new roof fitted recently

 

[JohnD]

I wonder if there is a water leak, perhaps causing a chipboard floor to collapse or, worse, joists to rot.

Any sign of dampness? might be on the ceiling below.

could be a radiator pipe, or bathroom, especially shower or under bath.

 

[DIYnumptyclown]

Thanks for the additional responses:

In no particular order:

the roof is the original one - from what I can see, at some point, one of the original owners started to do a roof conversion and this is evidenced by the reinforced floor - wood construction (nothing came up in my survey 3 years ago, to cause any concern)

I can't see any sign of dampness in either the hallway or lounge ceiling. I don't think there are any leaks, though the radiators have been off to put skirting on. No shower but sometimes I can hear dripping by the bath, so I wonder whether there is a leak but wouldn't it affect the bathroom floor first which seems fine?

Burnerman - I'll try your suggestion and use some filler - I assume decorator's caulk should be used?

Anyway, I'll monitor the situation and see what happens.

Many thanks for your responses.

By the way, if laminate has to be taken up, can it be re-laid?

Thanks again

 

[alan333]

Thanks for the additional responses:

By the way, if laminate has to be taken up, can it be re-laid?

Yes

 

[JohnD]

sometimes I can hear dripping by the bath

get that bath panel off before you do anything else.

 

[DIYnumptyclown]

Hi JohnD

just took the bath panel off and the floor seems dry. Couldn't feel any damp by the pipes.

Any other suggestions apart from monitoring the caulk?

Thanks for the advice.

 

[tony1851]

Just a long shot but has any central heating been put in of late? Or perhaps an additional rad with new piping? The heat from new pipework might cause some localized drying-out of the ends of the joists, causing shrinkage and consequent settlement.

 

[DIYnumptyclown]

Hi Tony1815

CH put in 3 years ago.

At the time i replaced the CH (afraid to say recommended but c**p builder from hell - another story) took out some stack pipes in the bathroom (to make it bigger). This led to a chimney stack shared with my neighbour.

I wasn't living at the house during the works so I'm not sure what he did!!

I've always had a nagging concern that the stack outside should have some support in the loft but have never noticed anything. I did mention it to a subsequent builder who did some work for me and he thought it wasn't a problem.

Do you think that the lack of support might be the cause of my sinking floor?

My head tells me to get someone in to look at it, maybe a structural engineer. Any thoughts?

 

[tony1851]

You really need to post a few pics interior and exterior.

 

[DIYnumptyclown]

will get some pics and post