Inward Angle at the Bottom of Wall Above Main Floor Staircase

Question

I'm a first-time homebuyer and noticed that the bottom of the wall above my main floor staircase has an inward angle. The wall continues up to the second floor, and there are no additional walls beyond it.

Details:

• The house is over 40 years old.
• The inward angle only affects the bottom section (approximately 10%) of the wall; the rest of the wall is straight.
• The staircase is attached to this wall (the right side wall in pictures), leading up to the second floor.
• The wall is not a foundation wall, it rests above it.

Images:

Is this inward angle normal for a house of this age? What causes this? Should I be concerned about it?

Answer 1

There are any number of reasons for this. I doubt any of them are structural concerns. The only way to know is to gain access and have a look.

• Imprecise framing where a wall rests on a floor system.

• Debris or misshapen lumber behind the drywall.

• An obstruction in the wall such as a plumbing hub which is wider than or extends beyond the wall cavity.

• A poorly done wall patch or joint repair.

If you wanted to fix it you'd need to determine which parts of the wall are out of plumb with or off plane from the top and bottom. If there's a bulge in the middle, that's probably just a fairly simple wall patch job. If the bottom actually slopes inward, you'd obviously have to get into the base trim as part of the project. How much you do is totally up to you.