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clueless88 · 07-28-2008, 11:06 AM

My husband still wants to buy this house to fix up and sell or rent. I keep looking at the photos I took and I am sure there are major problems. Something is crooked I think, or could this be an optical illusion?

At first I just thought the roof on the left side of the front of the house was slanted. Now I think the whole house is slanted. What is weird is the two story part of the house looks like it is slanted to the left from the front, but from the back it looks like it is slanting the other direction (away from the house). I didn't notice any of this while I was there. Only after looking at the photos. Could it be that the siding is all screwed up and it is causing me to see things?

I know I should go out there again with a level and ladder and really see what is going on with this house.

So, if I drive out there and find out something is not level, is this something that would make a home unfixable? Or at least too costly to fix for a profit.

buletbob · 07-28-2008, 12:38 PM

What I would do is go back with a level and check the walls and floor of the interior of the house. the siding looks as if it has been up for a few years. the siding installer could of started the siding by measuring off the soffit on either side of the house. so it appears level with the windows and door. As far as the side addition it appears as tho the rafters or the rafter tails where cut longer as they get closer to the main house. or the outside walls could of spread. BOB

Yoyizit · 07-28-2008, 01:25 PM

Standing across the street from the house, the farther the better, set up a level on something so it's parallel to the roof ridge and confirm that the bubble is centered.

Then from a few feet in back of the level, sight along the top of the level until the roof lines up with the top of the level, from left to right.
The roof line should then be parallel with the top surface of the level.

And if the roof looks like it's sagging in the middle, all you need to confirm/disprove this idea is a straightedge (a credit card, a ruler). Use the same sighting rules.

For sagging, you can even use a straightedge on a photo.

These methods have some optical problems of their own, but I think it's very likely that they will cancel out illusions, if that's what's happening here.

If you ever want to sell the house you may have to convince the buyer using the same methods, and you should be the one to bring up "this illusion thing."

Please lemme' know what finally happened.

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Is this an optical illusion?

Is this an optical illusion?

Is this an optical illusion?