Some walls and floors slighty off

[chris temple]

Hi,

I just bought a house, and recently noticed some very very slight "bowing" of the baseboards of interior walls in the basement (basement is finished). Also, when you look at the undersides of the upper level stairs, they a couple look to also be bowing/slightly slanted left. Is it normal/acceptable for basements, walls, and stairs to not be perfect 90 degree angles and to have some slant and bow in them? A couple of the floors upstairs are slighly off too - it looks like there is small "hump" running lengthwise on one of the laminate floors, which I'm guessing is either a truss that is slightly off, or the laminate was put in shoddly. The foundation looks to be stable according to the inspector, there are a couple crack - but nothing super alarming. Bowing walls or warped walls, even a tiny amount, to me suggest to me that something is not supported properly and will inevitably get worse. Or, should I just chalk this up to "no floor or wall is perfect". Any thoughts? . Thank you!

[Darrel Hood]

All remodellers know nothing is square, nothing is plumb, nothing is straight. Homes are built to pretty loose tolerances, then they change as lumber dries, loads are added and soils settle. I can't say from your description whether you have a problem, but an expectation of perfection is not realistic either. Hope this helps.

[Eric Barker]

Or, should I just chalk this up to "no floor or wall is perfect". Any thoughts?

If I went through homes expecting things to be perfectly plumb and level I'd be sorely disappointed. Rough in framing is just that. Finished carpenters can only do so much when things are really "rough." Have you called your inspector? He's the one who went through the home and is the better source of info on the home. You're the second homeowner to post in the past week or so regarding recent C.L. / L.I.T.H. inspections. I wonder if the two of you had the same inspector who is not explaining some things to his clients.