Thread: PRE-INSPECTION JITTERS - OVERREACTING OR CAUSE FOR CONCERN?

My home of 4 years is conditionally sold. However, there are some issues that have bugged me for a while in the home and I am not sure if I am experiencing undue anxiety over them or if the issues are primarily cosmetic. Thing more substantive issues have been there from the beginning. Here are some things that I have noticed ranking in severity.

1) I have a developed basement and I have a large slope in one room towards the center of the house. It then levels off in the rest of the basement in most cases. You can really feel it when you walk towards the room exit - so a significant slope. It has been like this since purchase, one of the doors no longer shuts properly and just out from the frame. The top of an interior wall is bowed ever so lightly at the top next to the door. Taken together, it feels like some settlement in the middle of the slab.

2) I have one significant crack in my basement floor in the furnace room it has been there since beginning and has not changed. When I put a level on it is high in the middle, so I get a wobbly level. It tends to extend from the corner of where the furnace is.

3) Main floor, some very light hairline cracks in some corners. Notices some minor baseboard separation, and I can see where the cupboards have ever so slightly moved from wall. Hard to find a truly plumb wall or corner. One footlong hairline crack in textured ceiling.

4) Upper floor, one hairline crack in textured ceiling. I can also feel a hump under the hardwood on the top floor when I am a the top the stairs. It stars pretty significant, but not visually detectable. I can wobbly a level on it. Then When I follow the hump back on the hardwood it gets smaller across then den and then when I get to the wall it is pretty much gone. It is level on both sides of the hump. Some hairline cracks in some room corners where wall meets. Hard to find a truly plumb wall!

No detectable foundation cracks
No other out of plumb doors
Windows all work well


Could I please get your advice on this. I am pretty stressed and just need to get the perspective of an educated individual or inspector.


Thanks so much!!

Originally Posted by glafleur

My home of 4 years is conditionally sold. However, there are some issues that have bugged me for a while in the home and I am not sure if I am experiencing undue anxiety over them or if the issues are primarily cosmetic. Thing more substantive issues have been there from the beginning. Here are some things that I have noticed ranking in severity.

1) I have a developed basement and I have a large slope in one room towards the center of the house. It then levels off in the rest of the basement in most cases. You can really feel it when you walk towards the room exit - so a significant slope. It has been like this since purchase, one of the doors no longer shuts properly and just out from the frame. The top of an interior wall is bowed ever so lightly at the top next to the door. Taken together, it feels like some settlement in the middle of the slab.

2) I have one significant crack in my basement floor in the furnace room it has been there since beginning and has not changed. When I put a level on it is high in the middle, so I get a wobbly level. It tends to extend from the corner of where the furnace is.

3) Main floor, some very light hairline cracks in some corners. Notices some minor baseboard separation, and I can see where the cupboards have ever so slightly moved from wall. Hard to find a truly plumb wall or corner. One footlong hairline crack in textured ceiling.

4) Upper floor, one hairline crack in textured ceiling. I can also feel a hump under the hardwood on the top floor when I am a the top the stairs. It stars pretty significant, but not visually detectable. I can wobbly a level on it. Then When I follow the hump back on the hardwood it gets smaller across then den and then when I get to the wall it is pretty much gone. It is level on both sides of the hump. Some hairline cracks in some room corners where wall meets. Hard to find a truly plumb wall!

No detectable foundation cracks
No other out of plumb doors
Windows all work well


Could I please get your advice on this. I am pretty stressed and just need to get the perspective of an educated individual or inspector.


Thanks so much!!

It could be so many things causing this, it sounds like the home has experienced a significant issue with the foundation or framing, like joist, beams and or the transferring of loads. I would contact a good foundation contractor and or an engineer familiar with residential structures.