How can I tell the difference in a few settling cracks and a foundation problem?

Question

In Dallas-Texas area, I bought the house and have discovered quite a few cracks that have been patched up in the past, I think i even found a door that was sawed at the bottom!

Nothing was in the seller's disclosure :o( So i'm not sure what to think at this point.

Is there a good website with resources on this as well??

the property was appraised and inspected.

I remember the inspector said the foundation was good to him. I don't even know if he found a crack! It's taken me a few months of living here to discover them because they have been in odd places.

Answer 1

this is somewhat common on old houses, you may want to have another home inspector take a look at it though. The door doesn't necessarily mean anything. If its an older home and a new floor has been put in over an old floor then the floor height has changed and the door needed to be cut in order for it to work, this happens in newer homes sometimes as well as the doors are usually installed before the flooring.
If your looking for settling in the foundation you want to look for cracking in the walls: the corners, and along the ceiling, also look for dips along the ceiling and floor, look for dips and humps in the fascia and roof line along the ridge and where the exterior walls support the trusses. here's the tricky part, some of this is normal in a house, what you want to look for is all of this in one place along with a crack in the foundation. even if the foundation is settling it doesn't mean the house is going to collapse. your best bet is to get an experienced contractor (with lots of remodel experience) to come look at it for you as this kind of thing is something that requires specific knowledge and experience to determine if there is a problem or if its normal (you will need to compensate them for their time).

Answer 2

if the crack was patched and it has opened up again then the problem is still there. Did't you have an inspector??
the door is a bad omen, indicates sinking or foundation shifting.