- Gotta say, I’m not totally convinced it’s just “settling” or random luck.
- In my experience, a lot of these issues come down to how the house was originally put together. Sometimes shortcuts were taken, or materials weren’t consistent room to room.
- I’ve noticed rooms with more exterior walls tend to shift more for me—maybe it’s temp swings?
- Shims drive me nuts too, but I started using composite shims instead of wood and they seem to hold up better through the seasons.
- Not sure if you’ve checked under your floors, but sometimes the joists have been notched or cut for old plumbing... that throws everything off.
- Honestly, sometimes I think “doing everything right” just means working around decades of weirdness rather than fixing it for good.
Honestly, sometimes I think “doing everything right” just means working around decades of weirdness rather than fixing it for good.
That really hits home. I’ve found the same thing—sometimes you’re just managing the quirks, not erasing them. I do agree about the original build quality making a huge difference. In my place, the rooms with more exterior walls always seem to have more movement, probably from temperature swings like you mentioned. I switched to composite shims too, mainly because they don’t compress as much over time. If you’re on a budget, sometimes it’s about picking your battles and just making sure things are safe and functional, even if they’re not perfect.
I hear you on picking your battles—sometimes I feel like I’m just negotiating a peace treaty with my house’s weirdest features. I tried to “fix” a sloping floor once and ended up just making the doors stick in new places. Composite shims are a lifesaver, though. At this point, I’m convinced perfection is a myth, especially in older homes.
Perfection in an old house? That’s a unicorn I’ve never seen. Every time I try to “correct” something, it’s like the house just shifts its quirks somewhere else—fix a floor, and suddenly the windows won’t close right. I’ve learned to live with a bit of tilt here and there. Composite shims are great, but I swear my place eats them for breakfast. Sometimes I wonder if these houses just want to keep their secrets...
Every time I try to “correct” something, it’s like the house just shifts its quirks somewhere else—fix a floor, and suddenly the windows won’t close right.
That’s the classic old house shuffle. Load distribution is tricky because nothing’s ever truly square or level anymore. You shore up one spot, and the stress just finds a new weak link. I’ve had joists that looked fine until I fixed a sag nearby—then they started creaking. Sometimes I wonder if it’s better to leave well enough alone, but then again, can’t ignore everything...
