Bouncy kitchen floor

[Burnsie1983]

Morning all, and happy new year!

I move into my property last summer. The buildings report mentioned a springy or bouncy floor in my kitchen.

The rear of my property where the kitchen is is probably a couple of feet above the front of my property due to the slope of the road.

When I walk in my kitchen it definitely sounds more hollow and echoey. When I walk in my kitchen I can hear the things in my fridge rattle. The main issue however is when my my washing machine is on it shakes the entire house (and probably next door).

I did have a carpenter around looking at other things recently, and they suggested that a joist might have come off....but in order to check they need to look under the floor....starting in the corner. This is where my kitchen cupboards are. Essentially, in order to diagnose and fix the problem I have to dismantle my kitchen??

Any advice welcomed

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Your carpenter is right. You can't even diagnose the issue unless you can get access. Maybe as a first measure you could beg, borrow or hire an inspection camera (they look like a hospital endoscope, plumbers use them...), drill a few holes in the floor and take a butchers, but even then I suspect the the floor will need to come up

Apart from a joist end being rotted or broken, there are a few other things it might be, for example in older houses the joists could be undersize or a brick pier could have failed, but again the floor needs to come up to investigate properly. In the meantime what about sticking your washer on a bit of thick rubber mat to reduce the vibrations?

 

[Dereekoo]

Forget the floor1st get your washing machine sorted as it should not be doing that, bouncy floor or not. Have you set it level and made sure all the feet are down and pressing on the floor, have you checked inside to make sure that the drum and support springs/dampers are functioning, if its fitted in a cupboard space squeeze some polystyrene baffle sheets between the washer and walls (6 x 6 placed towards the top should stop any residual bouncing about) Depending on what covers your floor you may be able to cut out a 400 x 600 access hatch somewhere to gain access and then replace the hatch with suitably sized timber fixed at strategic points around the hole to support/fix it

 

[^woody^]

You don't actually say what the floor is made of

A bouncy floor is not a defect, it's just a statement. It only becomes a defect when it becomes a problem, and at that time the floor, or part of it will need to come up (if its a timber floor) to investigate the cause and determine the solution, or if concrete, to replace it and the fill.

The likely time to work on the floor is when the units are going to be replaced.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

You don't actually say what the floor is made of

OP did state that he'd had a carpenter out to look at it, etc so maybe there's a clue in that?

 

[^woody^]

OP did state that he'd had a carpenter out to look at it, etc so maybe there's a clue in that?

Lots of people go to the doctors with toothache.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

 

[Burnsie1983]

Thanks for the replies all.

I'll try the washing machine trick too..it's in a cupboard space of sorts.