Floor sloping upstairs

If it looks new, what is the floor - suspended, concrete? Potentially indicates damp, although it might be as simple as the house hasn't been lived in, heated or properly ventilated for a while

Damp in front door frame is repairable, but at this time of year, after such a dry spell?

Attic hatch wood soft in places? Possible wet rot (leaking roof). What are the roof timbers and gutters like?

But then I haven't seen it first hand, so all this is just conjecture
 
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If it looks new, what is the floor -suspended, concrete? Potentially indicates damp, although it might be as simple as the house hasn't been lived in, heated or properly ventilated for a while

Damp in front door frame is repairable, but at this time of year, after such a dry spell?

Attic hatch wood soft in places? Possible wet rot (leaking roof). What are the roof timbers and gutters like?

But then I haven't seen it first hand, so all this is just conjecture

I have been in the house with him. It looks great.

I know surveyors mention everything to cover themselves.

I didnt see any bow in the laminate. I believe its concrete underneath.

No sign of damp by front door. I guess noticeable only with his damp meter.

As for soft wood around attic door, i no idea about that. I do know that the attic access is in the landing cupboard. A tiny access hole with no cover or door.

I guess his best bet is to get a timber survey carried out?
 
I guess his best bet is to get a timber survey carried out?
I'm not so sure. You can tell if you have wet rot very easily - paint flakes off, timber beneath is soft and spongy. A screwdriver can be easily pushed into rotten timber.
 
I'm not so sure. You can tell if you have wet rot very easily - paint flakes off, timber beneath is soft and spongy. A screwdriver can be easily pushed into rotten timber.

I see. Maybe surveyor is being over dramatic like they normally are.
 
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Ours told us we had rampant woodworm on the top floor. There were a few flight holes, but not too bad for a 125 year old house in this part of the world. He missed the fact that there was absolutely no frass, ergo nothing active. Same when we lifted some floor boards (destroying them in the process as they were brittle pine). The result was the mortgage lenders insisted on an extra "specialist" survey from a rot consultant and treatment with pemethrin. The guy who came to do these said it was a complete waste of time... We still had to pay £600 for the survey and the treatment to keep the money wallas happy :LOL:
 
Ours told us we had rampant woodworm on the top floor. There were a few flight holes, but not too bad for a 125 year old house in this part of the world. He missed the fact that there was absolutely no frass, ergo nothing active. Same when we lifted some floor boards (destroying them in the process as they were brittle pine). The result was the mortgage lenders insisted on an extra "specialist" survey from a rot consultant and treatment with pemethrin. The guy who came to do these said it was a complete waste of time... We still had to pay £600 for the survey and the treatment to keep the money wallas happy :LOL:

Typical of surveyors etc.

I guess my mate will have to take a look under the floorboards to see why the floor is slopping. That and the soft wood noted around attic hatch are his main concerns.

He is not bothered by the knotweed as it has a 5 year plan in place and its not extensive (at the moment!)
 
Update:

My mate had a builder around (recommended, plus, i have seen his work too) and he will give him a quote to remove all floorboards, level up the joists and fit new flooring down. Plus alter doors etc etc. Also, bricking up big gaps in the attic gable walls, and aso fitting and repositioning a new attic ladder (Keylite i believe) Be interested to see what he quotes!
 
Well, another builder has been around to the house yesterday...

Apparently the floor dips into the middle of the rooms. Approx 3" gap measured on a spirit level in the middle of the rooms!

This, to me, looks like the floors dropped when they knocked two rooms into one downstairs. Does that sound feasible? If so, is that a worry?

My mate said he also noticed that the plumbing has been put under the dot and dab walls from each rad...micro bore. Myself, i dont like that idea.

He is having 2nd thoughts about the house now as he is nervous that the builders cut corners.
 
There could be a variety of reasons for the floor dropping. Yes, when they opened up the room below they might have put the steel/timber beam in too low, but in all probability that the bow in the floor was already in there and that the beam was put in tight to the underside of the joists, because it is almost impossible to lift and entire floor from beneath (not to say potentially quite destructive). A low spot in the middle of the floor is more likely caused by settlement, undersized joists being installed, insufficiently seasoned joists being used (you see this in buildings built in the late 1940sm for example), the bedroom floors being overloaded for decades (e,g, with heavy Victorian furniture), or a combination of the above.

The only way to know for certain is to open the floor (or ceiling below) up and have a look, paying particular attention to the bearing at the end of each joist as well to ensure that sufficient joist is still in the wall, that it is properly supported (i.e. brick/mortar beneath it nor defective, perished or missing) and that there is no wet rot in the joist ends (outside walls). You can check that the joists are up to snuff by measuring the joist sizes - length, depth and thickness: a typical 2in/50mm thick joist will be about half the depth (in inches) that it is long in feet, or larger. So a 16ft span requires at kleast an 8 x 2in joist (this isn't 100% accurate, but gives you an easy yardstick to work from wiothout the need to look-up joist span tables.

Sorting it out, by sistering the joists, isn't difficult, but does require that the skirtings come off and the floor boards to come up, which invariably results in broken boards as Victorian floor boards tend to be fairly brittle. After the the joists can be sistered with same size structurally graded timbers (e.g. C16 or C24 - if going into exterior walls joists should be treated, the cut ends treated on site and envelope wrapped in something like roofing felt), any required strutting installed, brickwork made good (the new joist ends invariably require additional pockets to be cut out of the masonry, any new services such as wiring and water/CH run, the sub-floor replaced and finally the sjkirtings replaced. A lot of work, but not that difficult and well within the scope of a competent DIYer
 
There could be a variety of reasons for the floor dropping. Yes, when they opened up the room below they might have put the steel/timber beam in too low, but in all probability that the bow in the floor was already in there and that the beam was put in tight to the underside of the joists, because it is almost impossible to lift and entire floor from beneath (not to say potentially quite destructive). A low spot in the middle of the floor is more likely caused by settlement, undersized joists being installed, insufficiently seasoned joists being used (you see this in buildings built in the late 1940sm for example), the bedroom floors being overloaded for decades (e,g, with heavy Victorian furniture), or a combination of the above.

The only way to know for certain is to open the floor (or ceiling below) up and have a look, paying particular attention to the bearing at the end of each joist as well to ensure that sufficient joist is still in the wall, that it is properly supported (i.e. brick/mortar beneath it nor defective, perished or missing) and that there is no wet rot in the joist ends (outside walls). You can check that the joists are up to snuff by measuring the joist sizes - length, depth and thickness: a typical 2in/50mm thick joist will be about half the depth (in inches) that it is long in feet, or larger. So a 16ft span requires at kleast an 8 x 2in joist (this isn't 100% accurate, but gives you an easy yardstick to work from wiothout the need to look-up joist span tables.

Sorting it out, by sistering the joists, isn't difficult, but does require that the skirtings come off and the floor boards to come up, which invariably results in broken boards as Victorian floor boards tend to be fairly brittle. After the the joists can be sistered with same size structurally graded timbers (e.g. C16 or C24 - if going into exterior walls joists should be treated, the cut ends treated on site and envelope wrapped in something like roofing felt), any required strutting installed, brickwork made good (the new joist ends invariably require additional pockets to be cut out of the masonry, any new services such as wiring and water/CH run, the sub-floor replaced and finally the sjkirtings replaced. A lot of work, but not that difficult and well within the scope of a competent DIYer

The builder is giving him a quote to fix the floor. Remove skirting, remove floorboards, level off and fit new flooring, skirting and adjust door frames / doors....
 
Update:

Floorboards being ripped up in a month or so apparently and joists levelled as best they can and new flooring laid.

Mate said builder is taking all skirtings off and architraves and adjusting door linings.

Joists levelled then;
New boards fitted. Not sure what type.
All new skirting, architrave etc.

£3,800 in total he said
 
Went there today to give mate a hand...
See the big slope on the floors...

Its out by 3" in the middle of the rooms

Builder going to strip floors and level etc in a few weeks..

Whoever renovated the house a year ago must have wore a massive stetson!!!!

Ceilings look unlevel too in living roon!
 

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