On 26 Oct 2005 10:41:40 -0500, (Todd H.) wrote:

"Kim" writes:

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

That sort of settling evidence is worrisome and should be evaluated.

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.

Cracking sounds as the attic heats up are not unusual in my
experience. But then again, I could be a leming just ignoring them.

Ummm... wouldn't that be an ostrich ??? :-)


3. some cracks at the corner of walls inside the house. Most of the
cracks at the corner of walls are hairy, but 1 or 2 are bigger than
that.

Corner hairline cracks happen fairly routinely.

4. A crack (1/5 inch wide, several feet long) at my back yard.

?

We just moved in this house for several months. The inspection report
said everything was fine. Should I call a construction engineer to have
an inspection? What's your idea?

I might cal your inspector back and ask him these questions. He
might be willing to come back and have a nother look cheaper than
anyone else because he's somewhat invested in it with his name on the
inspection report. A 2nd opinion at that point might give additional
assurance. And assurance is worth the money spent--it's no fun to
live in a place you think might fall down.

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