On Oct 26, 7:01 pm, wrote:
On Oct 26, 5:06 pm, hands on wrote:
On Oct 24, 4:37 pm, wrote:
On Oct 24, 4:09 pm, hands on wrote:
On Oct 24, 9:31 am, wrote:
On Oct 23, 10:33 pm, hands on wrote:
On Oct 23, 4:36 pm, Caesar Romano wrote:
On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 07:18:13 -0700, hands on
wrote Re cracked concrete slab new home:
On Oct 23, 1:21 am, BobK207 wrote:
On Oct 22, 1:08 pm, hands on wrote:
I purchased a new home in spring 2005 in Leland,NC. Since then I was
replacing the flooring and found 5 10 foot long cracks in my on ground
poured concrete slab. I also have 6 vertical cracks on the outside of
my slab between ground level and the start of the siding.
The builder (Veranda Homes LLC ) tells me these are normal and only
offered to fill in the cracks. One crack is 1/4 inch wide and the rest
are larger than hairline. 2 of the cracks are continuing in a straight
line and do not look like "normal shrinkage cracks" . My back patio
vinyl framed sliding door is out of square also along with having
drywall screws poping out through the drywall 2 1/2 years later.
Do you think I should have a structural engineer look at the house?
I wanted to sell this house but I think a home inspector/ appraiser
will question all my external foundation cracks.
you can see pics hehttp://home.ec.rr.com/yankee/
OP-
It is difficult to scale the cracks in your photos (a tape measure
would have been a good idea).
Concrete cracks.
The cracks look pretty normal for slab on grade construction.
I don't see any 1/4" cracks.
If it will make you feel better , hire a civil / structural engineer.
cheers
Bob
I have a foundation repair company coming to look at it.
I wouldn't be surprised if the said it needed a "repair".
I have found from my immediate neighbors that they are having issues
with there flooring like cracking builder installed tile, builder
installed cheap imitation hardwood flooring flexing and making noises
when it flexes (walking on it).My builder is not cooperative, he has
the know it all attitude and if one of his handymen can't fix it-oh
well. Would my local town building inspector have my soil survey info?- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
Contacting the building inspector certainly can't hurt. He may know
if there have been other homes built by this builder that did have
structural problems. You could also ask him for a reference for a
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER.
I agree with those that have said getting a foundation repair company
is not a good idea. You're in a potential dispute with a builder and/
or warranty company over what could be a major and expensive repair.
What did you expect a structural engineer to charge? $350 to show up
and give an initial opinion of whether more investigation needs to be
done or it's nothing to worry about sounds about right to me. I
would have asked him how much an hour they bill, and if the cracking/
door movement turn out to be structural, what range the total
engineering work may fall into and exactly what you would be getting
for the $350.
I guess you could take the approach that if the foundation company
says it's not a foundation problem, then it's likely not. Of course,
you're relying on their expertise and without extensive investigation,
who knows? If they say it is however, which I'm betting they will,
then I would most definitely get a structural engineer in. If you
expect to get the builder/warranty company to pay for it, you're in a
10X better bargaining/legal position with a structural engineers
report, than with an estimate from a couple of foundation repair
contractors.
As I previously suggested, I'd find out if you have a new home
warranty. If you do, contact them and tell them you think you have a
structural problem. They will then send out one of their
inspectors. Of course, he's not on your side, but if they're going
to pay for it, they have to get involved. And if there is a
warranty, I'd factor into whatever you do how long the warranty runs
for, ie if you take a wait and see approach and this gets worse, are
you still covered for X years? And if no warranty, then time may be
of the essence anyway. Around here a couple good size builders
already have gone bankrupt in the downturn. If that were to happen
and you have no warranty, you are SOL.
I found out the 1 year warranty is it. There is a ten year structural
one through the state of NC but it's a get a lawyer and sue them deal.
Who told you that you have to sue to collect on the 10 yr structural
warranty? It's true most of them aren't very eager to pay out, but
this is the first time I've heard of a warranty where you have to sue
them as the first step. Usually, you can file a claim with them, have
them come look at it, show them your experts report, etc, and then
they either agree to cover it or deny it, at which point then you
could sue. Keep in mind there is small claims court too.
The foundation repair company came out and said I do have a problem
but it's not to the point of needing repair yet, he couldn't tell if
it was normal settling or a more serious problem because the house is
only 2.5 years old. Just told me to keep an eye on it and document
everything.- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
I called a few lawyers and discussed the problem.
And they told you that the only recourse with the home warranty is to
sue? Without even knowing what warranty you have or making a simple
phone call to the warranty company? You should have documentation
from the closing that specifies the warranies, if any, involved. I'd
go read that, if I were you. The process you're describing sounds
like recovering from the builder, absent any warranty. I've never
heard yet of a warranty where the first step is you have to sue them.
I have since found
an exposed bolt in the slab that is holding down the house to the
foundation for high winds.
If it's not structural problems then they sold me a house with known
defects. They looked at the door once, adjusted it and said that's as
good as they can get it.
I guess I will get some estimates to have the problems repaired, have
an engineer look at at and then off to court.
Would a structural engineer or civil engineer be best for evaluating
the house and the soil below?
I think the soil is an issue also.- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
If you want an engineer, I'd ask the local building inspector for a
recommendation. You'll likely find that many firms have engineers
in multiple specialties and can figure out who which guy is most
appropriate. Given you're considering legal action, I'd make sure the
guy has impecable credentials. Consider that whoever it is, their
opinion is going to be questioned.
And before you figure on going off to court, you better figure out how
much the whole thing is gonna cost. If it's small, $2k -5K, whatever
the limit is in your state, then you can go to small claims without a
lawyer and have a decent shot at prevailing. If it's $10-25K,
you're in a bad spot, because it could cost that much or more to
pursue and you could lose. Above that, then I guess it starts to make
more sense to sue, assuming you have a good case.
My closing attorney said all that I had was a 1 year. The state of
North Carolina says you have a 10 year structural but getting a
dirtbag builder to honor it means the legal system.
Live and learn-Veranda Homes LLC spends more time telling me what they
are not responsible for than checking to see how homes are built. The
general manager(Robert Exum) is the only employee who holds a NC
contractors license for Veranda Homes LLC. I have never seen him
checking any of the 200+ homes they have built, so you are left to the
technical expertise of a few Mexicans.
I am pursuing this with the NC State Attorney Generals office along
with others.
He is also developing another project, Waterford of the Carolinas. You
can't be a developer and a builder at the same time-IT SHOWS1