NEW HOUSE! Need help with something with the foundation?

Question

We had a structural engineer look at a large crack in the basement floor near a center bearing wall. The crack is approx. 6" to the west of the center bearing wall and has opened approx 3/32" - 1/8". The engineer said that the crack was caused by the bearing wall not being centered on the footing and lack of adequate control joints. This would cause the load from above to crack the concrete floor because of inadequate support directly under the bearing wall. Engineer believe that construction loads and general furniture load should not cause it to crack anymore. Should we continue with the purchase? What should we ask the builder to do about it? Please help. We like the house but don't want to get stuck with something that may need repairs.

Answer 1

A crack in the floor below grade will lead to water intrusion through the crack. I have never seen control joints cut into a basement floor so I'm a little perplexed at what the engineer told you. You don't say where you live but even simple heavy rains can cause seepage around the outer walls of a basement if the block are not filled and a water-proofer applied as the basement walls are built. Even with both of those done a simple crack along the block joint could allow water to seep in. The footer where the wall should have been placed should be a minimum of 16" but the floor where the wall was placed is 4" or less. There is NO way a 4" floor will support even the wall let alone be able to carry the load from above. You may want to DEMAND the builder get an x-ray or sounding of the floor because you may not even have a footer in the floor. Your only other option would be to have the builder cut out a 2 or 3-foot section of the floor the length of the bearing wall and pour a new pier/floor foundation. After it has FULLY cured he could build a new bearing wall and demo the old one. He would then have to come back and grind off the floor to remove the excess mortar. My problem with this fix is WHERE the heck is the floor joists sitting on the existing wall??? They should be evenly spaced across the top of the wall with an even amount protruding from each side of the wall. If this is the case then the floor above the wall was also laid out wrong and moving the wall isn't an option. My recommendation to you would be RUN not WALK away from this house. If you decide to buy another house in this subdivision or another make sure your available to view the layout and the concrete pour the next time. It's sad to see the cruddy workmanship of today’s builders. This is but another reason to buy an older home that was more than likely built by men that were craftsmen that took pride in what they built.

Answer 2

Being a home inspector, I would have recommended that you seek an engineer for advice on this. It is good that you did! Household items will more-than-likely not affect it, however, the actual dead-weight of the home is the concern. All of the weight of the house is transferred from the very peak, down the walls and eventually to the footings. That is why they are there, to support load weight, if there is a problem, which there is, eventually there will be a worse problem. No one can say exactly when. Other factors such as backfill, drainage, roofing materials, ETC., can all contribute to failure. If you are at all concerned, go with your gut instinct. If/when it does fail, it will be very, very expensive to repair. If it is already cracking, it WILL crack further over time.
If you decide to buy the home, patch the crack! This way you can see if there is any lateral shift in the crack, and how fast, if at all, it is degrading to give you a time line.
Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Generally a crack of that size is not considered a major concern as long as it is vertical. If you decide to go through with the purchase of the home, make sure that you monitor the crack, if it grows you will need to have it repaired by a professional. Repairing the crack itself is not a major expense, it will be a major expense if you have to make adjustments to the foundation. Make sure that the structural engineer gives you everything in writing with his signature and license number on it. If he is really sure of his evaluation this shouldn't be a problem.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Not only is it a bad Idea but stay away from it - when the foundation has structural faults that can lead to a host of problems down the road - i:e one big and long and heavy rain season would cause further problems not to mention rising dampness. I don't know what part of the country your from but if it's in the vicinity of a sub terrarium fault line then it could cause further cracks and might be considered unsafe to be in. Will you be able to get homeowners insurance .
don't buy it unless it's your dream house and you can put away money for future repairs

Answer 5

Give him a COPY of the report and have him fix those problems, and then have it reinspected, the county could have done this for you hte first time, code enforcement they are called here.

If he doesn't want to abide by what the inspector says, ask code enforcement, they really helped us with our builder!!! At the very least they can fill the hole!
If nothing is done try another insector before opting not to buy your home, afterall, you've been through it this far, but make sure it won't get bigger nor bug you! If so don't buy!!!

Answer 6

Personally, I see two options. I prefer to err on the side of caution and would normally walk away from the deal. Not all think like me. The other option would be to use the engineers' appraisal as a bargaining point to negotiate a lower cost. Without more details, that is the best advice I can submit - given what you provided.

Answer 7

Depends on the problem and the fix. I had a crack that was allowing water in. I paid 750 bucks for them to come and fix it. It took them 2 hours and I have never had a problem with it again. The did a patented procedure called Flexi-foam. They garunteed the crack would not leak again for the life of the structure.

Answer 8

if this is a house you are planning to buy then don't until they fix the foundation but if this is a new construction of the house then is the responsability of the contractor to fix properly this situation and why did the city didn't find this a problem....or they didn't went to check your property.....ask for the inspection and who sign it and who was the person who did the inspection and go to the city and tell them why they pass the inspection on the foundation.....so the city pays for the damages or the contractor..

Answer 9

NEW HOUSE i dont think so,
You Liking the house is not an issue-
The PAIN and AGONY you will go through- for many years for a re-occurring foundation problem - Is posible.
Who knows you may be in a SINK HOLE -
BUT you would definately be in a MONEY PIT.

Answer 10

If you're concerned about it now, it won't improve with time. Foundation repairs can be complicated and expensive. There are plenty of other houses out there. I'd pass on this one.