A viral video<\/a>\u00a0recently showed a marble rolling on an uneven floor inside a luxury apartment building in San Francisco called the Millennial Tower. This summer, residents there learned that the structure, which had been constructed on bay mud, had sunk a total of 16 inches and is leaning at least 2 inches.<\/p>\nBut can rolling a marble test really reveal if your listing has this kind of\u00a0a problem?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe marble is a good way to demonstrate the floor is not level, but not to tell if this means there is a problem,\u201d says Bill Neal, a structural engineer in Vernon, Conn.<\/p>\n
Instead, there’s a different tool you’ll need. \u201cPut a 4-foot-long level on the floor. Ideally, when the level is level, the end should not be more than an eighth of an inch off the floor. If it\u2019s a quarter inch or more, the house definitely should be checked,” Neal says.<\/p>\n
An uneven floor could indicate a structural problem or possibly poor workmanship, Neal says.<\/p>\n
But don’t let a little marble get buyers bent out of shape. \u201cThe truth is, all floors are going to be a little bit unlevel,\u201d says Mayer Daham, a real estate developer in Los Angeles. \u201cIf you can notice your building is dipping, that\u2019s not acceptable. Between one room and another, if a marble rolls, you\u2019ll survive.\u201d After all, a marble could roll from room to room because of different finishes on the floor.<\/p>\n
Joel Goodrich, a San Francisco-based luxury real estate adviser, says experts can help put things in perspective. \u201cThe real value and importance of having a professional inspector or structural engineer inspection is that they can say whether the settling is active (i.e., worsening) or cosmetic (i.e., not structural, but a function of the age of the building),\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
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