A crack in the foundation and water in the basement?

Question

Hi,

We are looking to buy a new house. My husband is "in love" with this one place and he doesn't want to let go.
But I wanted to ask important questions that bother me:
1. Regarding the basement: The house is 3 years old and I see small and kind of insignificant looking cracks in the floor of the basement. THe realestate agent says that this is the foundation "settling in" and every basement has them. And my husband agrees wth him, but I was thinking: This house is only 3 years old so what if these small cosmetic cracks become more significant in 20 years?
2. How would I know that there was ever a water problem in the basement? Is there a way to check? Is there a way to know that for sure this basement was always dry, and will stay that way?
3. My husband found a crack in the foundation outside. He says a crack in the foundation can be fixed Is this true? Is this a significant fix ?

Thank you

Answer 1

I build custom homes for a living. People that tell you the concrete should not have cracks do not have a clue what they are talking about. I can tell you in life of 3 things that will happen. You will live you will die and concrete will crack.

The person that invents something to stop concrete from cracking would never have to work again. Not saying all concrete cracks all the time. Sometimes you get lucky. Cracks are not a problem. When the concrete lifts is when you have to be concerned. Take a credit card and slid it over the crack if the lift on one side of the crack is higher then you have up heaving. This could be a future problem if it continues to lift.

1) Small spider cracks are common and happen to all concrete in the curing stages. It is expected.
2) You can not tell if water has ever been present in a basement due to the moister level of any below grade structure.
3) Any crack can be sealed and fixed. It may not happen on the 1st try but keep at it. I recommend you use sikaflex caulking (Home Depot carries this product)

If the house is only 3 years old then you have a drainage system installed around the footers. This is to take any water at the footer level to a sub pump and eject it from the house. Make sure you have no settled areas outside at the walls. These settled areas will hold water and let it run down the wall, if a crack is in this area it will seep into the house before it makes it to the footer drain system. If you do have settlement, fill them in so the water runs away from the house. Make sure all your downspouts extent a min of 10' from the house even if you have to bury them.

Do not let cracks in concrete and a little water seepage stop you from buying a house you like.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

No house is perfect. Its a question of how fixable it is and at what cost. If its a new house, you may not know if the basement will always be dry, past performance isn't always an indicator of the future. It could be that further settling will aggravate things and it could be that further settling won't have any effect.
My own personal feeling is that people shouldn't use basements for living or storing important things. Just too many times do we see 'once in a hundred year' storms or flooding.
Its also my opinion that homeowners spend a good deal of time keeping water out of their home. If it isn't the basement, its the roof.
Get a pro in to look at the house, see if you can get a warranty of some sort, sometimes the real estate agent will know. Right now it doesn't sound too bad, but you need someone on site to see it in person.

Answer 3

The basement should not have those cracks, and if water is leaking through them there is a serious problem. Have a structural engineer inspect the house. I lived in a house in Kansas that was built in the 50's that did not have cracks in the basement.

You should smell a musty, mildewy smell. The first time water gets in pretty much creates a forever mildew problem. Beware of products that might be used to mask the smell.

How large is the crack in the foundation? Where? Is water seeping through?

Cracks in foundation CAN be fixed but it can be costly. They would have to dig under your house and remove all of the soil from end to end of the crack. They would then have to backfill where they removed soil. If you have plumbing that runs underneath the house, this can pose a significant issue, and the contractor can do alot more harm than good.

I say run away from that house. It has small problems that will only become more significant with time. It sounds like the foundation wasn't poured properly at grade with proper measures put into place to help slow settling.

And I can't preach enough, have a structural engineer come out and inspect.

Answer 4

Look I have been in this type of work and I believe your husband, small cracks in the floor are common (as long as they remain small) most times at the time the floor was poured, the contractor allowed the floor to cure to fast and cracks formed (not good but not all that bad aether) he should have kept the floor wet with water (concrete will set regardless of how much water is on the concrete) but slow setting allowes the concrete to cure better. One of my best pours happened during a thunder storm, had so much water you could swim in it, yet it turned out to be the best pour ever. But to repair a basement wall is very expensive if it starts to bulge you will have to call in a professional as it takes a lot of equipment But make sure you use a reliable contractor (check him out good)
Good luck on whatever you do.

Answer 5

Water may have bled up through the concrete. You don't have to have visible cracks for this to happen, concrete is porous. If you are looking for a solution and this has never happened before, I would look to see if there are any leaks or breaks in the gutters of your house. Has anything changed outside your home that might have redirected water when it rains? Has there been any new development around your home that may contribute to an increase in ground water??

Answer 6

Get a qualified HOUSE INSPECTOR to come in and look at it. They know the difference between 'settling cracks' and 'problem cracks'

Have it as a "closing clause" in the purchase agreement. The inspector will tell you everything there is to know about the house.

I would NEVER purchase any house/condo without an inspection.

Answer 7

Hire a house inspector. It is money well spent. Either the home owner has to take care of the repairs, or the new buyer can get the price of the house reduced so he can make the repairs. Do not buy a house without a house inspector to inspect it!!!