“Level” Floors—Not So Much

Quick disclaimer: I’m a homeowner, not a structural engineer or flooring contractor.
Everything below comes from a level, a marble, my phone camera—and way too many evenings on my hands and knees.

What We Discovered

Symptom	Where We Notice It	How We Verified
Visible slope	Every room in the house	4-ft level shows a visible unlevel surface.
Marble always rolls to the center	Every room in the house	Marble test on video: Place a marble on a level, watch it roll off the level.
Spongy / bouncy spots	Kids’ playroom, kitchen, pretty much all over	Feels like the subfloor isn’t tight to the joists.
Lifted ridges, lumping, nail heads	Every room in the house	Trip hazard, for now.
Creaking floors	Upstairs hallway, stairs, kids’ playroom, kitchen, and more	Squeaking, clicking, and more.

It started as a sub-floor suspicion, but with the marble consistently tracking toward the center—both upstairs and downstairs—we’re now worried the entire structure may be sloping inward, not just isolated low spots in the sheathing.

Why It Matters (Plain-English)

Risk	What That Could Mean for Us
Premature wear	High spots grind the plank coating; low spots flex and break the click-lock.
Trip hazard	Lifted seams = uncomfortable to walk bareful, trip hazards, and little-kid wipe-outs.
Noise & Vibration	Creaks travel through framing and the floor flex makes bookshelves and décor noticeably shake when someone walks by—especially in the early‑morning quiet.
Resale value	An inspector will flag “uneven flooring” in two seconds; future price hit.

How We Got Here (Best Guess, Non-Expert)

The whole structure might be settling toward the middle of the foundation. In plain English: the house could be slowly “sagging” inward, which would explain why a marble rolls center‑ward on both floors.
Subfloor sheathing may have been left exposed to rain during framing and cupped.
Joists weren’t planed or shimmed before the sheathing went down.
No self‑leveler was used under the vinyl plank.
Fasteners or glue pattern might be sparse, letting boards flex.

Again, these are guesses—CBH hasn’t provided a root-cause report yet.

What We’ve Documented

Marble & level tests – videotaped with date/time overlay.
Floor-plan map – annotated PDF showing trouble zones (will post soon).
Opened warranty request – logged 4/14/2025; still awaiting inspection scheduling.

Take-Aways for Future Buyers

Bring a 4-ft level and a marble to any walkthrough—model home or finished unit.
Ask the builder for documented subfloor flatness specs before you sign.
If vinyl plank is included, confirm the lot # and manufacturer’s guidelines for subfloor prep.
Get squeaks, slopes, or vibrations onto the warranty list immediately.

Work-In-Progress Disclaimer

I update this page whenever life (kids, work, warranty calls) allows. Details might lag behind real time and typos will sneak in. If you catch an error—or have similar floor stories—ping me at [email protected] and I’ll tighten things up when I’m back at the keyboard.