Concrete gets hard and cracks. It is almost the exception to the rule
for there to be absolutely no cracks. There are many causes and most
conscientious builders do their best to prevent them because they cause
reactions just like yours.

Your are paying top dollar for an expected result. Any deficiencies
cause concern, apprehension, and even distrust; feelings which are not
conducive to good or positive relationships.

No one on this newsgroup can make you feel better or worse about your
particular situation. Can you trust your contractor or accept his
advice? If your answer is NO, perhaps you should change your present
situation. If the man has been up front and honest with you, what else
can he do?

Your biggest issue is what can be done to remedy the crack issue. You
have the advice of the builder's engineer. I assume the builder is
paying for that inspection. I would be concerned about the exterior
waterproofing over the crack. I would also ask advice about using epoxy
injection to stabilize and repair the crack. If you hire your own
engineer, you may get the same or similar answer, but you may be more
willing to accept the answer. It is your decision, for long term peace
of mind hire an independent 3rd party; split the cost with the builder
if he is amenable or pay for it on your own so you can sleep at night.

####################
Keep the whole world singing. . .
Dan G
(remove the 7)


"Zhixin Tang" wrote in message
m...
I'd like to thank all of you who responded. Here are some new
information:

The engineer hired by the builder had a visual inspection. He thinks
it is differential foundation settling that caused the crack. The
differential setting is estimated to be 1/8" and he said this kind of
difference is covered by the design and is normal(?). He said because
of elastic nature of soil initial load caused the crack and the crack
should diminish over time with the current load. When the load changes
(e.g. furniture, snow) it is expected that the crack should be
proportional to load. The foundation is structural sound to support
vertical weight

What are your opinions?