How to Calculate the Floor Pitch

Whether your furniture seems uneven, your photos look crooked or the room just feels "off," you could be dealing with a sloped floor. While the methods of evening out the slope on a floor vary, they all begin with calculating the exact pitch of the floor. Once you know and can quantify the exact extent to which the floor slopes downward, you can plan the next step -- all you need are a few simple tools to help you determine the measurement of the angle.

2-by-4
4-foot level
Tape measure or ruler

Instructions

- 1
  Place a 2-by-4 on the floor so that it is angled down the slope. This gives you an even surface to work off of, unhindered by whatever imperfections may exist on the surface of the floor.
- 2
  Set your level down on top of the 2-by-4 so that it runs in the same direction. Hold the top end of the level down against the wood and raise the lower end up until the bubble in the level is centered; there should be a gap between the bottom of the level and the 2-by-4.
- 3
  Measure the gap between the bottom of the level and the 2-by-4, measuring straight down. The pitch of the floor is expressed as "vertical drop:horizontal distance." For example, if you used a 4-foot level and the vertical gap was 6 inches, the floor pitch would be 6:48 -- the two numbers must be of the same unit of measurement. You could reduce this ratio to 1:8, because for every 8 inches of horizontal distance, the floor drops 1 inch.

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