Structural Concerns?

[Trent Tarter]

Todays inspection was new construction. The living room is open and has vaulted ceilings, along the living room's interior wall the floor drops and is not level with the rest of floor. The home has engineered floor joists at 24" centers. This wall runs the same direction as the floor joists. It seems to me that this wall might have been installed between joists and the vertical load in causing the sub-floor to bow and wall to drop, I could not tell from below the floors were insulated. My other guess is that they ran short on the underlayment for the engineered hardwood floors. If they used a thick underlayment and did not install it in this area it may be the reason that the floors drop in this area?

Does this make sense to anyone? What do you think?

[Bruce King]

Sounds like that wall does not have proper support and nothing to do with subflooring, it may even need two or more I-joists under that wall depending on design loads.

I found that same issue on a 20 year old house, owner was a RE broker that had the house custom built. It also had a main beam barely resting on the edge of a CMU block.

[Darrel Hood]

If you are attempting to determine what you should report, I think you have gone beyond the level of analysis a home inspector can be expected to do.

It's a new home. The floor "drops" beneath a wall. It ain't right.

The buyer of the home should expect it to be right, and you have given them the information they need if they want the builder to make it right.

I too strive to describe cause and effect to clients. However, in many cases, like you described, there is not enough visible evidence to determine cause. It is what it is.

Darrel Hood
DILIGENT PROPERTY SERVICES

[Trent Tarter]

I know exactly what I am going to report and how I am going to describe it. I just like to know what may be causing this for my own information.

[Darrel Hood]

Makes sense to me. More know how for all of us.

Darrel Hood
DILIGENT PROPERTY SERVICES