Wonky floors outwit joiner
 

The floors in my (rented) townhouse are going seriously fun house on me. I have to brace and shim everything due to severe slant of the floors away from the wall, I'm talking a good three inch gap on a six foot tall cabinet. But now it seems like parts of the floors are dipping and buckling. Since I'm a joiner, I know zip zilch nada about floors or framing, but is this something I should be worried about? I mean, the people who did the last renovation in this place attached the baseboards and trim with flat head nails for pete's sake; I wouldn't put it past them to cut the floor joists or remove load bearing walls without having a damn clue.

C'mon boys, lay some of that carpenter wisdom on me

Pictures and a description of the framing would help--also age of house--condition of foundation--

Give us something---3" in 6 feet is a ramp not a floor.

I'd find a new place to live. As a renter, you're not doing anything to fix this. Nor should you.
Have you spoken to the landlord?

Oh'mike: I know, the slant is frigging unreal! I use an IPad but I'll dig out the old laptop to upload some pictures, heck I might even unshim and unbrace the pantry just so you can see it.

As for the particulars on the house, it's the end unit in a row of townhouses, circa 1978. I don't know anything about the condition of the foundation, though the party wall does it's job. There's a finished basement, and two floors above, and the slant is EVERYWHERE, while the weird bulging and buckling is concentrated in the same area on the both the main and upper floors. The floor squeaks terribly, and has what I can only describe as "mushy" spots. The bulge upstairs is visible (I'll include a pic of that too) whereas i would need a long straightedge to show the rolling hills in the living room. I know I'm a little OCD (I'm a joiner/cabinetmaker after all) but there's no way this is all in my head. Oh, and the mosaic section they put in where the tiled entrance meets the laminate flooring in the living room has started to break apart; pretty clear evidence that the floor is flexing underneath it.

As for why I care: for the square footage, I live in the best deal in town. Sure the hatchet job on the trim gives me a facial tic, but moving's not an option yet. Short of being a death trap, that is. Landlord is a super guy, but it's a management company, I have to take a heck of a case to the guy if I think something is wrong with the structure.

'Preciate the help guys, the old man is a scientist, the only tools he has are a multi-meter and a soldering gun. I'm on my own on this one!

Not a good idea. :no:


Well there you go, it’s kind of one of those you only get what you pay for things.

If you think the structure is unsafe call the housing authority.
As a renter you’d be a fool to modify anything.

Kwikfish, I don't mean to say I live in a ramshackle dump, it's pretty nice actually and it's the perfect size for my family. Heck, if it weren't for the floors, I'd make an offer to purchase to my landlord. Like I said, I know nothing about floors, and I'm only really concerned that the place might cave in. Cosmetics will just have to wait until we get our own place.

I wonder: could inadequate sub flooring be to blame? The laminate on the main floor is pretty new, perhaps some over ambitious noob redid the floors with the wrong materials?

Again, I appreciate the help guys. I cannot wait to pick your brains when I finally get my hands on a place of my own!

Like I said, if you think the place your renting and your family is living in is not safe then call whichever agency in your area that regulates rentals and voice your concerns to them. That’s why their there.