Tilted apartment, can I do anything?

16 comments

1. It’s a common problem in Japan, in general, because of the way buildings settle given all of the geothermal and tectonic activity under the surface. You’ll probably find that your ball rolls in just about any building you try it in. You don’t need to worry until cracks start appearing in the walls.

2. Depending on what kind of landlord you have, they might not have noticed. Also, if it’s an old wooden house, it may well be a little out of whack, as long as it’s “a little”. Don’t panic.

   I would take a few pictures of the floor in different locations together with a bubble level, so one can see by how much the building is leaning and send them to landlord’s and the management company expressing your concerns.

3. My house is almost 70 years old wooden house. Its very very tilted. Nothing you can do, up to you if you want to live there.

4. Kind of funny, and probably not safe if The Big One comes. Since we’re at something like 70% chance in the next 20 years for The Big One to hit, I would look into moving as soon as possible.

   Best case scenario is you get your rental contract voided (so all deposits returned). In no universe will they repair it.

5. If the recent earthquake is anything to go by, you should be safe on the 2nd floor. The same cannot be said for the poor bugger living below you.

6. I wouldn’t worry about a bit of a tilt. If you’re really concerned, move to a place that was designed and built much more recently. A lot has happened since 1990. Older houses with heavy roofs are good for typhoons, less so for quakes.

7. I lived in a new house, built only 5 years before I moved in, with a concrete foundation. It was severily tilted as well. I don’t think it posed any issue safety wise, but it was annoying nevertheless.

8. My wooden-framed house here, built in 1997, has various warps and bends. You can see some of the posts bowing/warping, both interior and exterior. I had them checked, and apparently using wood still “green” during the construction causes this sort of thing. As the wood dries, it tries to get back to its original shape and warps. Also, creates fissures and cracks. There are some old houses in the UK with original beams from centuries ago all crooked and bowed, but people still live in them safely. Just looks a bit scary.

   Also, I don’t think my house has a single 90 degree “square” in any of the four corners.

   Aging, settling, earthquakes….all take their toll on Japanese houses.

9. 1990 is after the major revision of earthquake codes. It’s not up to the latest standards but you should be fine. I wouldn’t read too much into the ball rolling at any rate. Your rental contract should contain some details about earthquake code compliance.

10. Move to another place. They’re not going to even out the building for you.

11. [removed]

12. If it’s more than 6 millimetres in 1 metre tilted then it’s a health issue according to government regulations. I’m unclear what renter rights you have, though.

13. Okay, slow down, you are jumping to some WILD conclusions without any real evidence.

    Have you ever stopped to consider that your house is level, and it’s just a poltergeist or some other restless spirit?

    Eliminate the likely stuff first, my friend.

14. >thoughts of the building **collapsing**

    Generally speaking, this is not very likely.

    1981+ buildings *mostly* survived the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995, the classic big bad earthquake. Those that were destroyed, were destroyed by fire, explosions, and/or kinetic impact. They didn’t collapse.

    1981+ generally means shock absorbers underneath, metal vibration control between wooden beams, and braces. That all seems to be working as intended, as the major quakes directly after Kobe, like [Tokachi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Tokachi_earthquake) and [Fukuoka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Fukuoka_earthquake) resulted in *relatively* minor damage.

    Tokachi was harsh enough that the soil liquified. Most people were home, asleep; some injuries from falling objects and broken glass but no epidemic of modern houses outright collapsing.

    ​

    > Is it normal for a wooden structure to be tilted in Japan

    A little tilt, yes.

15. The below is simply me and my personals opinions on the matter

    Btw I live in a old house that serves also has a gallery so weird design from the start and almost no maintenance for 40years. I plan to move in the next 3-5 years so I’m not touching much but I’ve asked for an expertise once

    >if I put a ball on the floor it will always roll in one direction to one side of the building

    It seems that this happens almost everywhere that’s not new.

    >When I cook, oil always goes to one side of the pan, when I take a shower, water always goes to one side of the floor

    This sounds more like an effect of the mind

    >The place was built in 1990 and is made of wood

    Unless they didn’t respect any standards you are good

    >I’ve just started to worry about what would happen if there was a big earthquake

    If there’s a big earthquake two outcomes possible: 1.nothing 2.your building falls but then all buildings around fall as well and there was nothing to avoid the catastrophe

16. Ask Italy for pointers. Who knows, one day it could even be a world heritage site.