Foundation problems- questions- update pg 1 (long)

[Microcell]

We think we may have a problem with settlement of our foundation and are unsure what to do. I am feeling upset with the home inspector that did our general inspection when we bought the house two years ago. We noticed a crack in the foundation and he said it was not a problem. We specifically asked if it could become one and he said " the house has settled as much as it is going to, since it is 13 years old, so I think I would not even consider that in your decision to buy the house". DH said again, "So you don't think the crack in the foundation is going to get bigger?" he said NO!!!

Well, DH noticed the crack is indeed getting bigger so we are having a guy come out to look at it today. Over the phone this guy said he thinks if it looks like he thinks it does we could be looking at almost $10,000 to fix. Would homeowners ins cover? I have no idea how to pay for this! I don't think we have enough equity in the house to get a loan for that. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Pop Daddy]

long post

 

[Christine]

Well, I have to agree with your inspector that after 13 years, new settlement really shouldn't be occurring. Most cracks occur in the first few years after the house was built. I don't believe homeowner's will cover that unless you can prove that some "accident" happened that caused this (like a meteorite landing in your yard, mudslide, or a distant explosion). My boss found out after he moved into the house that there had been an ongoing foundation problem that started many years before. The original owners hid it and he didn't figure it out for a few years. He had to pay around $15,000 to correct the foundation, out of pocket.

I think I would still have to find out why this was happening after 13 years. You would hate to have this fixed only to find that the ground was still unstable.

 

[FroggyinArk]

First question,, is there a water problem, have you Had a leak in that area that was un noticed, or is there a drainage problem that causes water to sty and in that area around house,, if so then i might buy continues settlement,


how close were you to the tremors we have experienced in the central us lately?


Have there been any major rain events or even heavy sustained winds?


is the house on a major slope? it could be sliding instead of settling

home owners probably will not cover foundation repair,


and get some one that will stand behind the work , 10 grand is easy to see to stabilize and level a slab, plus you will lose any landscaping in the area, the yards going to get torn up for awhile and may not be fixed by the contractor, ( depends on the guy)
the warranty is important. also remember one contractor may not fix everything, if there are water problems, you may have to address t hem with either a plumber for piped water or a landscape contractor for out side drainage, you may have to have painters in to repair the Sheetrock and walls that crack when they start to level the house,

lifting and stabilizing a concrete slab is a major undertaking usually. a tunnel has to be dug under the house, then most times a large heavy duty air bag jack is pl;aced in the tunnel and used to raise the house back to starting level, then additionally trenches are dug around foundation and concrete is forced into those to fill cavity and stabilize the slab, that gets to sit for awhile then the bags are removed and those cavity's are packed back with cement. some ppl will pump a sand mix slurry underneath instead of regular concrete and thats OK,, as long as its really well packed in, foundation problems are sometimes the hardest problems to diagnose and are the hardest to repair, if the foundation is bad you have literally a bottom line flaw that means everythings on top of the problem,



as a foot note,, some foundation men will even ask that furniture and ppl are out of the house, that way if a wall collapses or worse its safely out of the way.

good luck and if you have anyquestions feel free to pm me or ask:0 will gladly give my experienced commentary

 

[Microcell]

So it sounds like there may even be more of a probem that I originally thought? I am not sure if it is sliding or not. There is a slope in the back yard, but when the house was built there was 4 feet of fill dirt put in so it would be flat around the house anyway. There is not a drainage problem that I know of. We have had a bit of rain here this summer. e are on the other side of the state from the New Madrid fault. I am really scared at this point.

 

[Christine]

I can't think of the name of these people, but besides an interior inspector I think you're going to need to get someone who can look at your land. Your hill very well could be sliding. I often see houses that are built on a big slope. They did it out, put fill dirt in, and then all of a sudden the house is on a flat surface. Doesn't usually cause a problem. But maybe with all the moisture, things are moving. You need to find out.

 

[FroggyinArk]

if the fill was added before they set the foundation you may have just posted the problem, un settled fill is not a stable place to dig footers and it takes years to really settle that much fill. If they level filled htrelot and it wasnt properly compacted before the footers were dug into it it could concieveably still be settling, but aftyer 13 years it should have been as far as it would go,, there are ea few other things that cxould be happening but theyare really scary and i wont mention them till we hear from theexpert who is there and hands on,, he may see a problem that i cant describe thats really not a hard fix, or i ty may be a worse problem than i can foresee. its really tricky dealing with foundastions.

 

[Microcell]

Thanks for all the information. I have no idea what to think now! I am very worried that the house is not built well or something! The builder was a friend of the original owner's brother and during the sale I got the feeling she was not happy with his work. I asked for specifics, and she said just little things she wanted done (like a light hung was too long of a chain for her taste) , so when the inspector was here I told him I was not opposed to getting out of the contract if he found any sort of problem at all!

Now I really wonder if the original owner knew all along. I will be interested to hear our neighbors reaction if there is a problem- they were close friends.

 

[DrCavin]

I would find a structural engineer, NOT someone who fixes foundations, give you an opinion before I had any work done.

Foundation cracks are very common and USUALLY are nothing to worry about. Some will grow/shrink as the seasons change. Wet weather can have a big impact on them as well.

Get it inspected & then go from there...

 

[my3kids]

For a contractor to say it would probably cost $10K to repair without ever looking at the crack, I'd definately not use. There are a lot of cracks which are not a prolem in the least. Most cracks probably fall into that category. Are you noticing problem upstairs? That is much more telling of a problem. If the foundation is cracked, yet windows are not coming out of square, doors in the house still open and close as before, no cracks appearing inside the home(aside from a small drywall crack here or there which likely happened a long time ago....If you are not noticing an issue in the top if the house, then there likely isn't a problem in the bottom. I would absolutley not take one person's word for this.

 

[my3kids]

Yes yes yes....get an engineer to inspect. Not someone who could fix it for you....someone with no vested interest in making it worse or better. They make the same fee regardless.

Also, did you have a drought last year in your area? It isn't just wet weather. A season being substantially dryer than the normal will also do this.

 

[Microcell]

Well, the owner of the company (for those in Kansas City- MAY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY!!!) came and told us just what we wanted to hear- You just wasted my time!!! He didn't really say that, but he said the cracks are due to the drought and then this summer's heavy rainfall made the clay under the house move and caused a few new cracks. He looked at a bigger crack in the crawl space and said that if it started to leak and if we had cracks elsewhere that were not straight seam cracks like we have now or iif the miter joints in the doors start to shift then call. He was great! I am soo relieved I may go out to dinner!

Thank you all!!!

 

[my3kids]

Yeah! What a load off your mind, and wallet!

 

[FroggyinArk]

ok glad to hear it wasnt a major problem, i was hoping that it was weather but couldnt say with out looking at it btw in case you didnt know,, I am a remodeling and repair contractor and have been in the business for almost 20 years,,,

 

[Microcell]

Froggy, thanks again for all your help! Glad I didn't need it! Same to you Christine!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Great!!!

 

[Microcell]

Dan,
You got that right! I am happily doing laundry and thinking about going to the store to buy some more school clothes for my DD because I can afford it!