In article , Pop says...


"kitamaria" wrote in message
oups.com...
: The cracks are wide enough that I could stick a nail in them,
or a
: piece of thin spaghetti. Some are hairpin though. They are
mainly
: along a large wall that divides the kitchen and living room and
one of
: the cracks is in the shape of a large square (4x4). Along the
doorway
: there are cracks that go all the way from the ceiling to the
top of the
: doorway and on a few other walls there are long vertical
cracks. It
: almost looks like there may have been some cracks before that
got
: "reopened" after the construction occured. Most of the cracks
are
: around 4 feet long vertical. there wasnt a permit or anything
(at
: least I dont think so). It was supposed to be a routine job
that took
: only 2 days. Thanks for being so nice --I know this is
ultimatly
: something I need to discuss with my contractor but I just wasnt
sure if
: wall cracks are something I should have known would happen.
:

Those don't sound "too bad" but ... those could also be famous
last words. I don't really know much about that sort of thing
but I do know that small movements (as in jacking a floor which
I've done in the past) does cause cracks to open up.

IMO, you should first:
Create a reference and get pictures of the cracks. If a nail
sticks into them, stick the nail in for the picture. Try to
measure and write down the sizes, length of width and direction
of each crack and note its location.
You'll then have a "reference". If the cracks change over
time or new ones occur, it could be really good informaiton to
have on hand. Sometimes just having a reference like that is
enough to talk a contractor whatever into taking care of things,
IF they need to be taken care of.
The worst part of this sounds to me like you were surprised by
it. That never should have happened. You should have been
advised of that sort of thing. Surprises are never good on any
job.

The bit about No Permit is a little disconcerting, too. I'm
pretty sure one was needed, but ... like I said, no expert here.
I'd call the local code enforcement office and ask if a permit is
needed for that sort of thing - you don't have to identify
yourself just to ask a question.
Then, assuming one was needed, I'd ask the contractor for a
copy of it for your records - a completely reasonable request.
The permit should have been prominently displayed while the work
was in progress.
I've no idea whether inspections were required when the job
was finished, but ... I would think that was the case.

For sure, create your reference point as I mentioned above, and
then go after the rest of it. Do NOT jump to conclusions because
this whole thing might be a whole set of tiny details not worth
worrying about.
But do find out ,just in case it IS a big deal, about the
permit situation because that could really bite you in the ass in
the future. I'll be very surprised if no permit was required to
do that sort of work.
Was the contractor bonded/insured?

Great advice. My engineer recorded the dynamic cracking problem I had as part
of his investigation (frost heaving issue).

BTW, for my job there was no permit, as it is a repair. These things do vary
widely, though.

Banty