Thread: Sidewalks

Just curious as to whether or not most of you report on cracked sidewalks. I always do and every time the Realtors (go figure) say I am being too picky and sidewalks should not be mentioned in an inspection report. The following is an interesting article on the subject:

A crack in your sidewalk could cost you big bucks – depending where you live - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

I think you should clarify what you're reporting, Bill. Just cracks or something else?

I've never seen a sidewalk that wasn't cracked. But I do call out trip hazards all the time.

I report them by describing them, Typical, Major or Major, Trip Hazard.

The danger of overlooking the sidewalk is not noticing not just the trip hazard but a grading or drainage issue, so yes, report the cracks. A wet basement will often have sunken sidewalk sections around it, not irrelevant at all.

In most cases... cracks in sidewalks, driveways and patios don't get mentioned unless there are offsets which are trip hazards.

I don't get too excited about cracks with respect to leaking.... IMO if the lack of a crack is all that is holding water back there are more problems than the crack. In other words, concrete is not a water-proof system.

I'm not wanting to dig into my training manuals, but recall any cracks over 1/4" should be specifically reported and the trip hazard height , 1/8" ? feel free to correct / add.

And while we're at it, let's not forget that a true "hairline crack" is barely visible enough to see--an average human hair is only 0.003" in diameter. Any inspector calling out "hairline cracks" is far more likely to be looking at cracks 20 times larger--in decimal form, 1/16" is 0.060" (rounded).

Originally Posted by william siegel

Just curious as to whether or not most of you report on cracked sidewalks.

Not I.

There are two primary costs to purchasing any home. The actual purchase cost and then the post purchase costs.
Since a cracked service walk will need eventual replacement or 'repair', there will be costs involved. Therefore the client should be informed of such conditions. Additionally, my report states whether the cracking appears to be typical concrete cracking or if there is a reasonable cause visible for the problem.
During a recent inspection a service walk was cracked and heaved up about 6". The big tree next to and roots running under the service walk were clearly the cause. It was an obvious trip hazard near the gate. Since it was a side gate to the yard, the client hadn't even noticed it.

I was mainly referring to areas that could pose a trip hazard, not hairline cracks. I think if they pose an injury liability to a client, they need to be reported.