Crack in the foundation

[Tick's wife]

Post pics. Huge, as in long? Or huge as in wide?

long and moldy

[Tick's wife]

we took pics, they will be up momentarily

[The_Tick]

This doesn't look promising...

Here is the bathroom...cracking in the grout:



Close up (these two are the only ones that have any hollow sounds to them. The two on the right.)



Next one...kitchen

[The_Tick]

So I get to the kitchen, and if you look hard you can see what I was seeing on top of the linoleum:



So I start peeling back from the fridge:



Even farther back:



How far does this go?



Here is a close up by the fridge:



I was worried before, but now I am starting to freak out a little bit because of the following:

1. I can see water damage/marks.
2. I can smell must. Kinda a molding smell.

So now...what to do from here? I am going to be calling the builder for sure, but I am pretty sure they are going to attempt to tell me eff off. If there is any water damage with my insurance company step in and help?

[wuapinmon]

Man, Ticks....I'm sorry for all the hassle yall're going to have to go through. I see obvious water damage...do you have flood insurance against rising water?

[Tick's wife]

it's even worse than we thought, it goes even further to the dishwasher and more mold....something good will come of this....

[wuapinmon]

Are there any earthquake insurance claims that could be made? Can you challenge the builder about it. I'd imagine that cracks like this in the foundation make the whole house weaker in the event of a quake.

[Surfah]

Are there any earthquake insurance claims that could be made? Can you challenge the builder about it. I'd imagine that cracks like this in the foundation make the whole house weaker in the event of a quake.

Not necessarily. If it's a free floating slab then there is probably little to worry about structurally.

[The_Tick]

I would assume it is a free floating slab. What does that mean?

So Drunk Tank came over and inspected and we have a theory about the water damages. 2 year ago I came into the house one day and there was water in on the dining room floor and kitchen. No busted pipe or anything. So I start running water in the sink and find a hole in my garbage disposal. From the water damage in the area below the sink it appeared to be there for a while. So I replaced the garbage disposal and didn't think anything of it.

If I follow the crack that leads out directly from the dishwasher the water stains eventually stop. DT theorizes that the water followed along the crack of the slab and that is where the water markings have come from. We have 2 layers of linoleum and it would have just been water that stayed moist underneath the linoleum. The cracks aren't very wide and isn't raised save the one spot by the fridge.

Here are the rest of the photos:







This picture here is the backside of a piece after it is pulled from the ground:



I sprayed the mold with bleach/water to kill that.

So Surfah, FN and Katy...recommend away. And anyone else that is knowledgeable. Oh tooblue...is your wife interested in a trip to Cali to do some cabinet work?

[myboynoah]

I would assume it is a free floating slab. What does that mean?

So Drunk Tank came over and inspected and we have a theory about the water damages. 2 year ago I came into the house one day and there was water in on the dining room floor and kitchen. No busted pipe or anything. So I start running water in the sink and find a hole in my garbage disposal. From the water damage in the area below the sink it appeared to be there for a while. So I replaced the garbage disposal and didn't think anything of it.

If I follow the crack that leads out directly from the dishwasher the water stains eventually stop. DT theorizes that the water followed along the crack of the slab and that is where the water markings have come from. We have 2 layers of linoleum and it would have just been water that stayed moist underneath the linoleum. The cracks aren't very wide and isn't raised save the one spot by the fridge.

Here are the rest of the photos:

This picture here is the backside of a piece after it is pulled from the ground:

I sprayed the mold with bleach/water to kill that.

So Surfah, FN and Katy...recommend away. And anyone else that is knowledgeable. Oh tooblue...is your wife interested in a trip to Cali to do some cabinet work?

That sounds like that is probably the source of the water. From some of the pictures, it looks like parts of the crack are already filled with some kind of sealant. Is that correct? If so, this has been there since the flooring was laid.

I guess I don't know how serious this really is. We had a crack in our tiled kitchen floor that ran the width of the house. Obviously the slab was cracked. It was visible, but didn't bother us that much when we bought the house and didn't bother the buyers when they bought it from us. The inspectors said nothing about it.

[The_Tick]

That sounds like that is probably the source of the water. From some of the pictures, it looks like parts of the crack are already filled with some kind of sealant. Is that correct? If so, this has been there since the flooring was laid.

I guess I don't know how serious this really is. We had a crack in our tiled kitchen floor that ran the width of the house. Obviously the slab was cracked. It was visible, but didn't bother us that much when we bought the house and didn't bother the buyers when they bought it from us. The inspectors said nothing about it.

It isn't sealed, just the angle of the photo. The more I think about it the less worried I get. It will just be a fun little project. heh. gulp.

I will work a little bit each night taking some of the linoleum up and disposing of it. I will have it all up by Wednesday. How to get rid of the paper/glue that will be left on the floor is another thing entirely.

[Surfah]

I would assume it is a free floating slab. What does that mean?

So Drunk Tank came over and inspected and we have a theory about the water damages. 2 year ago I came into the house one day and there was water in on the dining room floor and kitchen. No busted pipe or anything. So I start running water in the sink and find a hole in my garbage disposal. From the water damage in the area below the sink it appeared to be there for a while. So I replaced the garbage disposal and didn't think anything of it.

If I follow the crack that leads out directly from the dishwasher the water stains eventually stop. DT theorizes that the water followed along the crack of the slab and that is where the water markings have come from. We have 2 layers of linoleum and it would have just been water that stayed moist underneath the linoleum. The cracks aren't very wide and isn't raised save the one spot by the fridge.

Around the perimeter of your home you have your foundation wall. Upon these you have your bearing walls built supporting your roof trusts/joists/rafters (whatever type of roof construction you have). The foundation walls are typically taller than your slab. Some of these have pockets in them to support a slab. They're shaped kind of like the state of Utah if you will and then the slab fills in and is partially supported by the foundation walls. A free floating slab is just that. A slab independent and not supported at all by your foundation walls. This is why if you have a free floating slab, cracks aren't really anything to worry about structurally (meaning your roof isn't going to fall in on you).

How wide are those cracks?

[Surfah]

It isn't sealed, just the angle of the photo. The more I think about it the less worried I get. It will just be a fun little project. heh. gulp.

I will work a little bit each night taking some of the linoleum up and disposing of it. I will have it all up by Wednesday. How to get rid of the paper/glue that will be left on the floor is another thing entirely.

I'd get in touch with the builder. Chances are they'll tell you to pound sand. On the off chance they have someone come out to look at it, they'll probably tell you to pound sand.

If you want you can have a structural engineer look at it. They can draft a report for you and suggest the best way to remedy it. This might be pricey though. But if you know someone who might help you out it's worth having them look at. If for no other reason that you have something documented and have had it fixed according to an engineer's design so it's not an issue should you ever have to sell it later.

I'd look at some sort of epoxy injection to seal the cracks. But I'd definitely want to get to the bottom of why it cracked. Superficial cracks happen. Like FN Phat said, if they're no bigger than 1/4" then you're probably okay. But if it's water causing them, shrink/swell soil conditions, or maybe something like the slab not being thick enough (you wouldn't know unless they cored out a sample, a process I have had to do on a model home) then you have some more serious issues, that won't be fixed easily or cheaply.

[Drunk Tank]

The crack is +- 1/8". It looks like there may have initially been some type of foundation repair while the house was being built, and the resulting crack is leading from the area of the repair, but I cant tell for sure ( and I'm no expert). I think a good grinding/leveling/sealing is on order. Put down some new flooring and call it good. By the time it may become an issue again, you will more than likely have sold the house.

[FN Phat]

By looking at the pics and the size of the cracks, I wouldn't be too worried. I think Surfah gave the best advice. If you are truly worried about it and think that it could surface again at the time of a resale, get a structural engineer to look at it and recommend a fix. It seems that you may have found the source of the water coming from the garbage disposal. From DT's post it also seems that there was a pre-existing repair. If the water is wicking through the crack, epoxy is the way to go. I have had to epoxy wall foundations and a slab before. It is a costly, time consuming process that takes a professional to do correctly, yet it is very effective. If there is no wicking, I would reapir the surface of the crack and lay some tile.