Wonky floors: how to relax about them being wonky?!

[WonkyFloor]

We’ve recently bought our first house, an old Victorian terrace. A couple of the rooms have wonky floors. Our surveyor and the bank’s surveyor both said the house is structurally fine. Historic movement but nothing progressive.

We got chatting to the neighbours across the road from us who said if you put a marble on the floor in their house, it would roll down to the other side of the room. They were really relaxed about it.

How do I become relaxed about it too?! I don’t know if it’s the anxiety of the move or the terror of having a massive mortgage but I can’t shake the feeling of being really worried that the rooms will collapse.

Logically I know it’s fine and normal for an old house, but how do I relax about it?

I’m not sure, maybe see your gp about anxiety/depression/paranoia or general mental health issues?

Our house dates from 1500s. Some of the wonky floors are unreal, I've just got used to them. Furniture has different sized blocks wedged under different edges to accommodate. It all adds character, I love its quirkiness, just tell yourself it hasn't collapsed in a few hundred years, why would it start now!

I have never seen an UNwonky floor in this country. It will be okay. Enjoy your new home.

Sounds like it’s about something else. 2 surveyors has told you it’s structurally sound, what more is there to say? Give it time, it’ll home feel like home soon enough and you’ll be used to it before you know it.

We have an old house. I embrace its quirks but when we moved in, the bedroom floor was extreme. One side of the room was significantly lower than the other. Really felt like a slope. We had someone come and sort it out, unfortunately it was an on-top-of-floorboards solution (to costly to start re-doing the whole floor from scratch) which we have carpeted. I love it now, but it does mean we could never have an exposed floorboards look in that room.

Chill, it is just history manifesting itself in the present.

Wow! 😅

Was this a concrete floor leveller? I thought about that but was worried about adding more weight to the side of the room that’s lower?

We got chatting to the neighbours across the road from us who said if you put a marble on the floor in their house, it would roll down to the other side of the room. They were really relaxed about it

My kitchen's the same, but I've been here for three decades so I don't notice it any more (which is not to say that I wouldn't like a nice level floor). If the surveyors say no problem then it's one of those things that you have to take a deep breath and tell yourself it's fine ( and TBH it took me years to stop checking floor levels in the kitchen). It's part of the charm 🙄of an older property

I'm afraid you just need to get used to it. Builders don't do accurate so new things you get done also won't be straight or level.
I get frustrated by it, but knowing that it isn't just me, or our house, helps me come to terms with it. I hope that helps you too.

If you really want to do something about it, contact someone who is competent is repairs of properties of the age you have bought. Big changes to houses of this age require an experienced hand. A DIY job could lead to costly damages if you don't know what you're doing.

You will get used to it. Remember:

1. it's stood for more than a hundred years - a good track record
2. Nothing happens quickly. Any problems would become apparent over time, and you'd have plenty of time to fix them.

Enjoy the new house!

I’d say embrace all the quirks of an older house, as PP said! It takes time to get used to these as you discover them around the place, but as long as they are safe, can be endearing. I love character in buildings, and would rather live with them than spend a great deal using modern techniques to cover them up. Modern updates can cause damage if not carefully considered. Enjoy your new home!

I lived somewhere that was built around 1700
One of the floors had a quirk where you would drop down almost to your ankle on one part and back up again
Everything creaked!
It's still standing now

Give it 12 months and if it still sends you bonkers then and only then look at options for levelling. I suspect by then you'll have forgotten about it and moved on.

I live in a house that's about 135 years old. It has cracks and creaks and lumpy walls. Things made me feel nervous for the first while, but now I don't even notice it. It has stood for 135 years, it's not likely to fall down now!!

The nerves when you first buy a house are unreal, it's an enormous sum of money to invest. You just have to let it pass.