I bought a 27yr old 2-story house last July. I had a general inspection done on the house with no major concerns revealed. There had been some settling in the house but it was minor and was typical for other houses in the neighborhood.
During the last 2 months I have noticed cracks appearing over doorways in the center of the house. Some of the cracks are wide at the ceiling getting smaller as they go to the top of the door. Others crack in the reverse direction; ie wide at the door, smaller at the ceiling. Some cracks in the sheetrock have started on side of doorways.
The exterior doors and windows still seem to operate well and there is no sign of cracking on the walls or on the visible portions of the foundation.
About 5 months ago I removed 3 large trees that were close to my house. The soil type for my area is clay.
Any ideas on what is happening? What do I need to do to stop the problem? What kind of cost am I looking at? This type of project is way outside my abilities. How do I make sure I get the right person to fix my problem?
Replies
It sounds like the sheetrock was nailed to the headers that shrink at different rate than the vertical lumber.
I wonder if the house was newly painted just before being offered for sale, with a patch or spackle in old cracks to mask the ir existence. This is common in real estate. They may not be serious and only shrinkage
cracks as suggestd, that have been ther for years with no problem other than cosmetic.
but since you mention removing a couple of large trees, it is clear that the soild wwere disturbed and that possibly the foundation has suffered some stress because of it. This would be more likely with a slab on grade foundation. the only indication I have if that is your situation is the title of the thread. Were the soils compacted back to their previous condition when the work was done? Were you present at the time stumping was performed to know whether the machinery hit the house or foundation?
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I'm thinking that three large trees account for a lot of groundwater that has no where to go now except to the clay under the slab. That's a lot of heave potential....that's not a mistake, it's rustic
There was no indication that the walls were painted before buying. There were some hair line cracks visible.
As for the trees, I cut them down myself and have not removed the stumps as of yet. The 3 trees are in the same region of the yard on the Northwest corner of the house approximately 8-12 feet from the house.
The house is a cement slab, 2-story, and on a gentle grade down to a lake about 1/8th of mile away. The lake was drained approximately 10 years ago. At that time many homes in the neighborhood had foundation problems requiring repairs. The house I purchased did not.
"The house I purchased did not."
But it might now.
Probably, the changing water/soil conditions over time are effecting it, tho not as bad as other nearby houses. two stories on a slab is overworking the foundation to start with in most circumstances anyway. You probably have a bit of shifting going on. take a piece of tape to place over cracks in inconspicuous places if you can stand to leave it there for awhile, to observe how much it is moving. If it keeps on, some hydro jacking might be needed to stabilize.
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Call in a guys from the Yellow Pages and he will tell you all sorts do scary things because he has to pay for the ads. If the cracks are diagonal, the door wont close or you can stick a pencil in the crack, then you may worry only a bit.
27 year old houses normally have done 80% of the settleling its going to do. Just watch it go thru all the seasons. Buy a digital camera, set it at its lowest quality and send it here for us to see, cause we are not here to sell you a job.
Edited 3/22/2004 7:55 pm ET by Sungod
I agree with you about letting my fingers do the walking through the Yellow Pages. But, I don't know where to go next. I don't think I can get a picture to show you the problem.
Most of the cracking seems to be focused around a center load baring wall. It is like the second floor is moving up while the first floor is going down. Molding around the ceiling is about a quarter inch below the ceiling now. Kitchen cabinets on the same wall are now gapping from the wall. I have hair line cracking in the ceiling around the same area.
Also I have noticed in the last week that the toilet on the first floor now rocks.
When I bought the house I thought most of the settling had already occurred. The builder was known for his quality foundations.
Would a home inspector be able to give me any quality advice? Structural engineers seem to be pricy and hard to get. I am afraid to call a foundation repair company until I get an unbiased opinion.
Most of the cracking seems to be focused around a center load baring wall. It is like the second floor is moving up while the first floor is going down. Molding around the ceiling is about a quarter inch below the ceiling now. Kitchen cabinets on the same wall are now gapping from the wall. I have hair line cracking in the ceiling around the same area.
I have seen lots of home where there is structural steel post and beam that are very stable and solid, which results in all the wood members around it settleling a quarter inch per floor. Again, wait and see if the gaps have stopped widenning. See if the Building Department has the structural plans that show an interior posts and beam.
Would a home inspector be able to give me any quality advice? Structural engineers seem to be pricy and hard to get. I am afraid to call a foundation repair company until I get an unbiased opinion
How much is your house worth to you? You sound very concerned. You have to do something. All the advice in the world or from this board is not going to tell you what, if anything is wrong with your home.
You might try contacting your local building dept. or Chamber of Commerce for a refferal or perhaps one from a nieghbor or friend.
Eric
I'm thinking Bungalow Jeff is on the right track.
Where are you located? How close were those tress to the house?
As to using the cracks to diagnose the movement, size and their location is all-important to understanding what is moving and which way it is moving.
Take a slow walk around your exterior and view the fondation closely. Any cracks there? (There usually are some small ones.)
Take your shoes off and slowly walk with small overlaping steps all atround the house - try to step on every square foot. Don't pay attention to anything other than what your feet are telling you. You'll be surprised what your feet can detect, even through carpeting.
Make sure every plumbing fixture is off, and check your water meter - you might have a leak under the slab.
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While leak in the middle of the slab might be the problem the first think that I would ask is if the roof is stick build or trusses.
Truss uplift was the first think that I though of.
Hadn't thought of that and I don't see that much around here - when I have seen it its been cracks at the wall-ceiling junction, not coming from the corners of windows and doors, but as I say I don't see it much in my area (or I haven't distinguished between those cracks from settlement and from uplift!?!).
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Thanks to Jeff and David and Jim and Rich and Steven and Mark and Jason and Shep and Jen and Mike and Joe and Bill and Ken for their offers!
Several donations have arrived! Thanks and God bless!
The only way that I see this would be truss uplift is if the bottom chord was nailed to the top of the walls. The trusses could be picking up the walls over the doors to some degree.
But if that was the case, there should be other cracks between the ceiling and wall joint. He doesn't mention any like that.Women don't make fools of men - most of them are the do-it-yourself types.
There ain't any truss lift in this.
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The trees were located on the northwest corner of the house approximately 8-12 feet from the house.
I have walked the outside of the house and have not found any significant cracks. The first floor is mostly brick, title and wood flooring. Only have carpet in three rooms.
It seems to me that the center supporting wall for the second floor is sinking, but I want to know how to varify this.
I can try your idea about a leak in the pipes.