Our house is now over 50 years old. While not old compared to many other buildings, it is old for up here. There are at least two abodes down the mountain that are a decade older, and two below them that were built in the 20s or 30s, but our place– originally accessed via the low road–is one of the oldest of the 45 or so places up here.
While built on a pretty natural plateau, the pad on which the house sits is compacted fill. Thanks to the bore studies we did as part of the wall replacement, we know that there has been only about 6″ of settling since the house was built.
This does not mean everything is perfect. The one rather annoying thing about having a wooden house built halfway up a mountain in a climate that has dry summers and wet winters is that the house changes shape throughout the year. This is particularly noticeable in the foyer, where a set of French doors separate the north hallway from the rest of the house. It seems having them close properly is possible only during the wet months or the dry months. Originally they closed well during the summer (dry) months, but usually we leave them open then. Since having them close well in the winter months–when we want the north hall nice and warm–is more important, we made a few adjustments. (Shims are wonderful things.)
Thankfully, this is the only spot in the house with such major shape-shifting issues.