Thread: Hello from AZ

Hello,

I just joined this site as I'm in the process of having a home built with a major home builder and within a month of the post-tension slab being poured 2 cracks have developed. The first runs straight from the front door to the rear patio and the second in the nearby dining room. The construction manager says it's just a cosmetic shrinkage crack and doesn't feel any repairs are necessary. He got confirmation from an external engineering group who has been inspecting their work on this project. However, I feel the cracks might be settlement cracks, as the area between the 2 cracks seem to be lower than the surrounding area when I take a 18 inch straight edge across the cracks. Regardless of shrinkage or settlement cracks, isn't it kind of early for cracks to appear and will it damage any tile I place in the house after I close? I have already paid $16,000 in earnest money invested so it would be hard to walk away, but if I go through with the purchase it will cost me another $440,000, for a house that may have structural issues going forward. Any advice on how I should proceed would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Hi Phillip,
Where in the valley is the home being built?
If the general contractor is truly using an external structural engineer for inspecting their project, you should request/demand a written report from the structural engineer on your property, that way if it is truly a structural issue you may have some legal recourse later on.

I would recommend getting your own concrete ( structural) engineer to look at it before flooring is installed. Depending on the weather conditions when the pour was made and after during the curing process , cracks in flat work concrete are typical, but, like you I am concerned that they have developed so quickly. A house is too large an investment to not spend a little extra money to be sure about an item that bothers you. I would worry about that for the foreseeable future - it would nag at me!

Originally Posted by Philip Andrew

Hello,

I just joined this site as I'm in the process of having a home built with a major home builder and within a month of the post-tension slab being poured 2 cracks have developed. The first runs straight from the front door to the rear patio and the second in the nearby dining room. The construction manager says it's just a cosmetic shrinkage crack and doesn't feel any repairs are necessary. He got confirmation from an external engineering group who has been inspecting their work on this project. However, I feel the cracks might be settlement cracks, as the area between the 2 cracks seem to be lower than the surrounding area when I take a 18 inch straight edge across the cracks. Regardless of shrinkage or settlement cracks, isn't it kind of early for cracks to appear and will it damage any tile I place in the house after I close? I have already paid $16,000 in earnest money invested so it would be hard to walk away, but if I go through with the purchase it will cost me another $440,000, for a house that may have structural issues going forward. Any advice on how I should proceed would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

I will repeat the oft invoked facts about concrete: The two things you can count on concrete to do is to: 1- get hard, and 2- crack. That said, without seeing the cracks it is hard to tell if these cracks are a problem.
concrete begins to crack as soon as it is placed and several factors can lessen or aggravate the process. Concrete that is placed with too much water in the mix will shrink more and generally be weaker. Concrete that is "worked" too much after it is placed can have a weak surface subject to flaking, cracking and if weather exposed, spalling. Expansion or control joints can be inserted to help with the visual aspects of cracking but a not generally used for monolithic slab foundation construction.

At this point it will be hard for an engineer to give a definitive answer about the slab since he was not there to see the work but going forward hiring your own inspector, especially before the walls are closed up would be money well spent.