"Kim" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi, All,

Last Feb., I bought a 2-story house with crawl space. The house is
about 12 years old. Recently I have discovered signs of foundation
problem (settling?) that worry me a lot.

Every house settles. It is a matter of degree.

1. The floors at the family room and master bedroom(2nd floor) begin
tilting. I did not notice this when we moved in.

That is a fairly high degree and you may want it checked out. Can you
measure the tilt? Will it roll a marble?


2. Cracking sounds from the wall with chimney. At night, especially
during earling morning hours, I can hear cracking sounds from the wall.
Recently, the temperature drops some, but not below zero yet. The
lowest temperature is around 36 to 40 degree.

Some is normal as the house expands and contracts with the heat, cooking,
sun load, heaer burner warming hte chimney. Not having first hand knowledge
I can't say what you see it normal.


Should I call a construction engineer to have
an inspection? What's your idea?

If the floors are tilting, yes. Some cracking of the drywall is normal, but
most should have taken place years ago. If this is new, it is a concern.