Sloping or uneven floors

What a sloping floor can mean

Floors can slope for several reasons. On a slab, part of the foundation may have moved as the clay under it swelled or shrank. On pier and beam homes, piers can settle, shims can work loose, and beams or joists can sag or rot. Some older houses were simply built a little out of level.

How to check it yourself

• Set a marble or small ball on a hard floor and watch which way it rolls, and how fast.
• Lay a long level or straight board across the dip and look for gaps underneath.
• Check whether doors in the same area stick or swing open on their own.
• Look for gaps between baseboards and the floor, or between cabinets and the wall.
• Take dated photos and notes so you can see if it changes over a few months.

Signs that point to movement

A slope that gets worse over time, or comes with new cracks above doors, sticking doors and gaps at trim, is more likely to be movement than an old quirk of the house. See sticking doors and cracked walls for those signs.

Slab or pier and beam?

The fix depends on the foundation type. Slab homes are usually lifted with piers. Pier and beam homes are often re-shimmed or have piers and beams repaired from the crawl space. Read more on slab repair, pier and beam repair and house leveling.

None of these signs proves a foundation problem on its own, and a guide cannot tell you what is happening under your house. Have a qualified pro inspect it before you decide on any repair.

For typical national price ranges, including crack sealing and piering, see the foundation repair cost guide. Those are national figures, not quotes.

Related guides

• Signs of foundation problems
• Foundation repair cost
• Sticking doors and windows
• Cracked walls
• Bowing walls
• Helical vs push piers
• Piers vs mudjacking
• Crawl space repair
• Local partners and resources
• Home

Last updated October 2026.