[moesilverio]

A home improvement company is building a sunroom attached to the back of my house. The room is 14'x17'.6". The floor has a pitch of one inch from wall to wall on the 14' line. Is the pitch normal?

[ma0641]

That is less than 1:12, probably done that way for any water drainage. What is their position?

[dannac]

[creahands]

If this is outside, a normal pitch would be 1/8'' per foot away from house.

Chuck

[smearcase]

If 1/8th is normal, the slope is one half what it should be, (about 1/16th).
Is this permitted work? What is required per plan? Is there a code reference to slope? You need some documentation if you are going to make the contractor change work already in place.
It won't affect any tile that I know of. 1/2 of one percent is the least I have ever seen specified for surface drainage. But, is drainage an issue here?
If it was supposed to be level, the contractor was a little sloppy setting it up. But this is a very borderline situation no matter how you look at it (unless you have specs properly referred to in the contract).

[moesilverio]

The room is an enclosed sun room with many windows and glass all over. There is not a draining issue. Although it is not specified in the contract, the floor should be flat without any pitch. A previous employee of the company laid down the floor. The same employee build the wooden deck where the room is build. The tiles are actually travertine. Once we complained to Home Depot, since we contracted with this company through Home Depot (HD), a HD district manager inspected the sun room and required the company to fix all that was wrong, i.e. window trimming, paint job, steps, sliding doors, gutters, roof shingles and to replace the entire floor.
The main point is that the floor was worst than what it is now however, it should be better.
The company's position is "floors are not always perfect.
My wife and I want a discount from HD. HD wants us to allow the company to finish before any discount negotiations.

Thank you for all your answers.

[joypulv]

An enclosed room should have no pitch.
Floors can be perfect.
Your choice about whether to wait or not - what % of the job have you paid?

[smearcase]

If the floor is unacceptable to you, and you can prove it, tell them you want it rebuilt. They will likely refuse to do so because it would impact the already finished acceptable construction to a great degree-correct?
Maybe they agree to give you a credit to resolve the issue.
If they won't give a further discount and you won't pay the originally agreed amount, they may sue you for the amount you decide to withhold.
I can't find a building spec that defines the word level. Maybe somebody can. But a reasonable definition of level would be one based on the position of the bubble within the lines of a four foot level. One inch in 14 feet is slightly less than 1/16th inch per foot. With a 4 foot level, that is slightly less than 1/4 inch in 4 feet, and with my 4 foot level the bubble is still inside the lines (just barely) when the level is raised 1/4 inch on one end, on a near perfectly level surface.
At this stage in court, you produce your documentation to prove that the floor is not level. Don't let it get to that stage unless you have that proof.
I don't believe that you have answered whether there was a permit for this work

[joypulv]

Clearly HD contracted with a lousy contractor. Did you see a GC license? You can look it up on your state website by their name. Make sure it's GC, not carpenter. Anybody can get that just by paying the fee.
1/14" is bigger than 1/16", not smaller. It's not acceptable in new construction.
None of my 4 houses and 1 condo had level floors, but they were built between the early 1900s and 1970. House foundations and piers settle.
You can certainly live with it. But demand a price adjustment (from HD) now, not later.

[smearcase]

You are correct. My mistake.
I should have said:
One inch in 14 feet is slightly MORE than 1/16th inch per foot.

[moesilverio]

An enclosed room should have no pitch.
Floors can be perfect.
Your choice about whether to wait or not - what % of the job have you paid?

I have paid 10%

[moesilverio]

If the floor is unacceptable to you, and you can prove it, tell them you want it rebuilt. They will likely refuse to do so because it would impact the already finished acceptable construction to a great degree-correct?
Maybe they agree to give you a credit to resolve the issue.
If they won't give a further discount and you won't pay the originally agreed amount, they may sue you for the amount you decide to withhold.
I can't find a building spec that defines the word level. Maybe somebody can. But a reasonable definition of level would be one based on the position of the bubble within the lines of a four foot level. One inch in 14 feet is slightly less than 1/16th inch per foot. With a 4 foot level, that is slightly less than 1/4 inch in 4 feet, and with my 4 foot level the bubble is still inside the lines (just barely) when the level is raised 1/4 inch on one end, on a near perfectly level surface.
At this stage in court, you produce your documentation to prove that the floor is not level. Don't let it get to that stage unless you have that proof.
I don't believe that you have answered whether or not there was a permit for this work

Yes, there is a permit for this job.

[moesilverio]

I appreciate all the answers. Things are more clear now.
The contractor has a GC license. There is a permit for the job.

[smearcase]

Has a building inspector offered an opinion about the floor?

[moesilverio]

Has a building inspector offered an opinion about the floor?

A building inspector has not inspect the floor yet.