Investigation Of Sunken Floors

The table below summarizes the floor elevations by room. The elevation differences (column 4) were obtained from CAD Drawings 1 in Appendix A. The NAHB Performance Standard for floor elevation difference is 0.50" in 20 feet or .025" per foot (see NAHB Performance Standards in Appendix D). The allowable elevation difference (column 5) was obtained by multiplying the room dimension with the asterisk by 0.25. The defect factor is column 4 divided by column 5. The defect factor is a measure of the severity of the slope or sag in the room. The factor should not be over 1.00 to meet the NAHB standard.

FLOOR ELEVATIONS BY ROOM
Room Length (ft.) Breadth (ft.) Elev. Diff. (in.) Allowable (in.) Defect Factor
Sun Room 9.2 8.8* 0.20 0.22 0.91
LR / DR 21.8 13.2* 1.00 0.33 3.03
MBR 15.0* 11.0 1.00 0.38 2.63
MBR Closet 5.8* 5.5 0.20 0.14 1.43
Bath 1 6.8 4.8* 0.60 0.12 5.00
Bath 2 8.0 5.0* 0.40 0.12 3.33
Kitchen 10.6 10.2* 0.40 0.26 1.54
Store Room 7.2 5.1* 0.00 0.12 0.00
BR Closet 5.8 5.5* 0.20 0.14 1.43
Bath 3 8.0 5.0* 0.80 0.12 6.67
BR 15.1 11.0* 1.80 0.28 6.43
Loft Sitting Room 18.3 11.0* 0.80 0.32 2.50
Loft BR 13.0* 15.0 0.80 0.32 2.50
1st Level Overall 42.5 28.5* 2.60 0.71 3.67
Loft Overall 30.5 15.0* 0.80 0.38 2.10