I can't imagine this is a rare problem, so if there is a better place to
research this please feel free to direct me elsewhere.

We have put a contract on a house and the inspection uncovered a crack
in the slab.

The home is 5 years old built on what used to be a cotton farm. The
area is now suburban with paved streets etc. The house is in a very dry
climate with temps ranging from 25-105F annually.

The crack in question is approximately 25 ft long and travels under two
walls. 4ft of the slab is exposed in the garage and the other 21 ft are
tile in the kitchen. The grout in the tile is cracked. The crack does
not seem to travel from one side of the slab to the other. The outer
edge of the slab is approximately 10 feet parallel to this crack. There
is what I assume is some very small shifting of the door frame into the
house from the garage. This door is perpendicular to the crack and
between the crack and the outer edge of the slab. Most of the rest of
the home is carpeted and I am unable to see any other telltale signs in
door frames or walls. The home is about 2 feet above the surrounding
street and it is possible that this crack is from settling. I do not
yet know how long it has been there or if it has been looked at
professionally. The overall quality of the home is outstanding. High
quality building materials were used and the builder has a great local
reputation. The finish out is medium quality. There are no water lines
involved as all water delivery is run through the ceilings.

A picture of the exposed area can be found he
http://www.tekn0lust.com/images/slabcrack.jpg


So questions.

1)Is this a deal breaker?

2)Should I look into stabilization?

3)What is likely to happen to this in the future? We plan to stay in
this home for a long time.

Any other comments are greatly appreciated.

tM

1)Is this a deal breaker?
YES,YES,YES,YES,YES,YES. And here is why there are litterally dozens of
reason why this could be happening so of which are not to costly others
would break you stay away from it-------even if they lower the
price......


themeanies wrote:
I can't imagine this is a rare problem, so if there is a better place to
research this please feel free to direct me elsewhere.

We have put a contract on a house and the inspection uncovered a crack
in the slab.

The home is 5 years old built on what used to be a cotton farm. The
area is now suburban with paved streets etc. The house is in a very dry
climate with temps ranging from 25-105F annually.

The crack in question is approximately 25 ft long and travels under two
walls. 4ft of the slab is exposed in the garage and the other 21 ft are
tile in the kitchen. The grout in the tile is cracked. The crack does
not seem to travel from one side of the slab to the other. The outer
edge of the slab is approximately 10 feet parallel to this crack. There
is what I assume is some very small shifting of the door frame into the
house from the garage. This door is perpendicular to the crack and
between the crack and the outer edge of the slab. Most of the rest of
the home is carpeted and I am unable to see any other telltale signs in
door frames or walls. The home is about 2 feet above the surrounding
street and it is possible that this crack is from settling. I do not
yet know how long it has been there or if it has been looked at
professionally. The overall quality of the home is outstanding. High
quality building materials were used and the builder has a great local
reputation. The finish out is medium quality. There are no water lines
involved as all water delivery is run through the ceilings.

A picture of the exposed area can be found he
http://www.tekn0lust.com/images/slabcrack.jpg


So questions.

1)Is this a deal breaker?

2)Should I look into stabilization?

3)What is likely to happen to this in the future? We plan to stay in
this home for a long time.

Any other comments are greatly appreciated.

tM

I'd walk away too unless it was repaired with a good warranty and tiles
fixed etc.

Italian wrote:
1)Is this a deal breaker?
YES,YES,YES,YES,YES,YES. And here is why there are litterally dozens of
reason why this could be happening so of which are not to costly others
would break you stay away from it-------even if they lower the
price......


themeanies wrote:
I can't imagine this is a rare problem, so if there is a better place to
research this please feel free to direct me elsewhere.

We have put a contract on a house and the inspection uncovered a crack
in the slab.

The home is 5 years old built on what used to be a cotton farm. The
area is now suburban with paved streets etc. The house is in a very dry
climate with temps ranging from 25-105F annually.

The crack in question is approximately 25 ft long and travels under two
walls. 4ft of the slab is exposed in the garage and the other 21 ft are
tile in the kitchen. The grout in the tile is cracked. The crack does
not seem to travel from one side of the slab to the other. The outer
edge of the slab is approximately 10 feet parallel to this crack. There
is what I assume is some very small shifting of the door frame into the
house from the garage. This door is perpendicular to the crack and
between the crack and the outer edge of the slab. Most of the rest of
the home is carpeted and I am unable to see any other telltale signs in
door frames or walls. The home is about 2 feet above the surrounding
street and it is possible that this crack is from settling. I do not
yet know how long it has been there or if it has been looked at
professionally. The overall quality of the home is outstanding. High
quality building materials were used and the builder has a great local
reputation. The finish out is medium quality. There are no water lines
involved as all water delivery is run through the ceilings.

A picture of the exposed area can be found he
http://www.tekn0lust.com/images/slabcrack.jpg


So questions.

1)Is this a deal breaker?

2)Should I look into stabilization?

3)What is likely to happen to this in the future? We plan to stay in
this home for a long time.

Any other comments are greatly appreciated.

tM

themeanies wrote:
I can't imagine this is a rare problem, so if there is a better place to
research this please feel free to direct me elsewhere.

We have put a contract on a house and the inspection uncovered a crack
in the slab.

The home is 5 years old built on what used to be a cotton farm. The
area is now suburban with paved streets etc. The house is in a very dry
climate with temps ranging from 25-105F annually.

The crack in question is approximately 25 ft long and travels under two
walls. 4ft of the slab is exposed in the garage and the other 21 ft are
tile in the kitchen. The grout in the tile is cracked. The crack does
not seem to travel from one side of the slab to the other. The outer
edge of the slab is approximately 10 feet parallel to this crack. There
is what I assume is some very small shifting of the door frame into the
house from the garage. This door is perpendicular to the crack and
between the crack and the outer edge of the slab. Most of the rest of
the home is carpeted and I am unable to see any other telltale signs in
door frames or walls. The home is about 2 feet above the surrounding
street and it is possible that this crack is from settling. I do not
yet know how long it has been there or if it has been looked at
professionally. The overall quality of the home is outstanding. High
quality building materials were used and the builder has a great local
reputation. The finish out is medium quality. There are no water lines
involved as all water delivery is run through the ceilings.

A picture of the exposed area can be found he
http://www.tekn0lust.com/images/slabcrack.jpg


So questions.

1)Is this a deal breaker?

2)Should I look into stabilization?

3)What is likely to happen to this in the future? We plan to stay in
this home for a long time.

Any other comments are greatly appreciated.

tM

Doesn't look toooooooo bad...

You've answered the query about water lines.
But you can bet that the kitchen drain (at the very least)
is buried in/under the slab.

Since the kitchen tile is already compromised,
maybe factor into the price a demo of the floor
in that area and a re-tile.

If you like the house enough for other reasons,
do what you gotta do...

Jim

I notice the crack is wider at the top/surface than it is at the bottom of
the slab edge. To me this says, and can be checked with a straightedge if
the concrete is reasonably level and flat, that the outer edges have settled
or expansive soil has pushed up in the middle of the slab.

Without knowing the building design, I would assume that the bulk of the
weight of the house is on the outer walls, hence causing the outer edges to
settle a bit. The middle of the slab being supported on compacted fill or
some concrete piers within the fill. Without much weight on this area it
probably would not settle much resulting in the type of crack you are
looking at. I would assume that the crack is still forming and will probably
finish traveling across to the opposite outer wall.

The crack does not appear to be very wide, and probably not get much wider,
but I cannot forecast that, only an engineer who checked the construction
plans and is familiar with your form of construction may be able to estimate
what will happen in the future.

I have seen a lot of concrete cracks, most are not a problem, and cause
little concern. You may have to regrout the tiles, possibly using something
flexible until all has stabilized. You may want to build into your price,
any expected future repairs.

"themeanies" wrote in message
...
I can't imagine this is a rare problem, so if there is a better place to
research this please feel free to direct me elsewhere.

We have put a contract on a house and the inspection uncovered a crack in
the slab.

The home is 5 years old built on what used to be a cotton farm. The area
is now suburban with paved streets etc. The house is in a very dry
climate with temps ranging from 25-105F annually.

The crack in question is approximately 25 ft long and travels under two
walls. 4ft of the slab is exposed in the garage and the other 21 ft are
tile in the kitchen. The grout in the tile is cracked. The crack does
not seem to travel from one side of the slab to the other. The outer edge
of the slab is approximately 10 feet parallel to this crack. There is
what I assume is some very small shifting of the door frame into the house
from the garage. This door is perpendicular to the crack and between the
crack and the outer edge of the slab. Most of the rest of the home is
carpeted and I am unable to see any other telltale signs in door frames or
walls. The home is about 2 feet above the surrounding street and it is
possible that this crack is from settling. I do not yet know how long it
has been there or if it has been looked at professionally. The overall
quality of the home is outstanding. High quality building materials were
used and the builder has a great local reputation. The finish out is
medium quality. There are no water lines involved as all water delivery
is run through the ceilings.

A picture of the exposed area can be found he
http://www.tekn0lust.com/images/slabcrack.jpg


So questions.

1)Is this a deal breaker?

2)Should I look into stabilization?

3)What is likely to happen to this in the future? We plan to stay in this
home for a long time.

Any other comments are greatly appreciated.

tM

themeanies wrote:
I can't imagine this is a rare problem, so if there is a better place to
research this please feel free to direct me elsewhere.

We have put a contract on a house and the inspection uncovered a crack
in the slab.

The home is 5 years old built on what used to be a cotton farm. The
area is now suburban with paved streets etc. The house is in a very dry
climate with temps ranging from 25-105F annually.

The crack in question is approximately 25 ft long and travels under two
walls. 4ft of the slab is exposed in the garage and the other 21 ft are
tile in the kitchen. The grout in the tile is cracked. The crack does
not seem to travel from one side of the slab to the other. The outer
edge of the slab is approximately 10 feet parallel to this crack. There
is what I assume is some very small shifting of the door frame into the
house from the garage. This door is perpendicular to the crack and
between the crack and the outer edge of the slab. Most of the rest of
the home is carpeted and I am unable to see any other telltale signs in
door frames or walls. The home is about 2 feet above the surrounding
street and it is possible that this crack is from settling. I do not
yet know how long it has been there or if it has been looked at
professionally. The overall quality of the home is outstanding. High
quality building materials were used and the builder has a great local
reputation. The finish out is medium quality. There are no water lines
involved as all water delivery is run through the ceilings.

A picture of the exposed area can be found he
http://www.tekn0lust.com/images/slabcrack.jpg


So questions.

1)Is this a deal breaker?

2)Should I look into stabilization?

3)What is likely to happen to this in the future? We plan to stay in
this home for a long time.

Any other comments are greatly appreciated.

tM
Not a deal breaker in my opinion. It is often said that there are two
types of concrete... concrete that is cracked and concrete that will
crack. This is not a deal breaker in my opinion. Worst thing is the
effect on the tile. You could just re-grout the tile and cross your
fingers and re-grout again in a couple of years if necessary. Thats the
cheapest and easiest thing to do. The house wont fall down.

themeanies wrote:
I can't imagine this is a rare problem, so if there is a better place to
research this please feel free to direct me elsewhere.


alt.building.construction is an alternative location

We have put a contract on a house and the inspection uncovered a crack
in the slab.

With the bare slab in the garage, I don't think it took much
"uncovering"...

The home is 5 years old built on what used to be a cotton farm. The
area is now suburban with paved streets etc. The house is in a very dry
climate with temps ranging from 25-105F annually.

The crack in question is approximately 25 ft long and travels under two
walls. 4ft of the slab is exposed in the garage and the other 21 ft are
tile in the kitchen. The grout in the tile is cracked. The crack does
not seem to travel from one side of the slab to the other. The outer
edge of the slab is approximately 10 feet parallel to this crack. There
is what I assume is some very small shifting of the door frame into the
house from the garage. This door is perpendicular to the crack and
between the crack and the outer edge of the slab. Most of the rest of
the home is carpeted and I am unable to see any other telltale signs in
door frames or walls. The home is about 2 feet above the surrounding
street and it is possible that this crack is from settling. ...

You don't say...

For five years, what appears to be no more than a hairline crack is
certainly not unexpected--it would be more unusual for there to not be
any.

I think the "NO!" crowd here are over-reacting given the (apparent)
size of the crack and minimal apparent movement. I don't see the
"wider at the top/surface than it is at the bottom of the slab edge" of
another poster -- given the perspective the size of the crack looks
essentially the same over the exposed length to me. It's hard to tell
and I suspect it is mostly owing to the camera lens and angle but to me
it appears there's possibly a high spot in the baseboard over the crack
indicating a settling on one or both sides of the crack location.
That, of course, would be very easy to check w/ a straightedge/level.
Assuming that isn't real and significant, I'd not have too much
reservation although it would certainly be prudent to get it looked at
and to build in at least some discount in the price to account for some
perceived risk.

You say it's a dry area but was farm ground previously--was it
irrigated or dryland? The most likely probable future problems will
undoubtedly be if it's an area that does have some rainfall and can
have "wet spells" where the soil dries out between rain events.
Ensuring good drainage away from the foundation on what is probably a
very flat lot is also key.

"themeanies" wrote in message
climate with temps ranging from 25-105F annually.

The crack in question is approximately 25 ft long and travels under two
walls. 4ft of the slab is exposed in the garage and the other 21 ft are
tile in the kitchen. The grout in the tile is cracked. I do not yet know
how long it has been there or if it has been looked at professionally. So
questions.

1)Is this a deal breaker?

2)Should I look into stabilization?

3)What is likely to happen to this in the future? We plan to stay in this
home for a long time.

I'd want to know how long it has been there, and has it moved since.

I have a similar crack in my lower level slab. It has been there for 25
years and has not moved. If yours is a similar situation, no big deal. Do
some checking, but I doubt it is a deal breaker.

dpb wrote:
ou don't say...

For five years, what appears to be no more than a hairline crack is
certainly not unexpected--it would be more unusual for there to not be
any.

This is true. Before I finished my (then) 5 year old basement, I had 6
or 7 cracks, mostly hairlines. A couple are almost 1/8". Additionly, I
had cracks of 1/8" or more at all the joins. I covered those cracks with
roofing felts, and put ceremic tiles on. No more cracks visible.

I visited 4 of my neighbor's basements. All of their slabs had cracks
before put on a finished floors (they put laminates on).

To those who said that cracks are bad signs, maybe you can remove your
carpets or laminates and report back about your results.

I wouldn't be worried in the slightest over that crack unless it just
showed up or the floor is tilted at either side. Use a straight edge
and a marble to make sure everything is flat and level and then forget
about it.

It's near impossible to pour that much concrete without a crack or two.
Too bad about the tile in the kitchen. There are ways to lay tile
over a crack so it won't come through, should you decide to replace it.

-rev




themeanies wrote:
I can't imagine this is a rare problem, so if there is a better place to
research this please feel free to direct me elsewhere.

We have put a contract on a house and the inspection uncovered a crack
in the slab.

The home is 5 years old built on what used to be a cotton farm. The
area is now suburban with paved streets etc. The house is in a very dry
climate with temps ranging from 25-105F annually.

The crack in question is approximately 25 ft long and travels under two
walls. 4ft of the slab is exposed in the garage and the other 21 ft are
tile in the kitchen. The grout in the tile is cracked. The crack does
not seem to travel from one side of the slab to the other. The outer
edge of the slab is approximately 10 feet parallel to this crack. There
is what I assume is some very small shifting of the door frame into the
house from the garage. This door is perpendicular to the crack and
between the crack and the outer edge of the slab. Most of the rest of
the home is carpeted and I am unable to see any other telltale signs in
door frames or walls. The home is about 2 feet above the surrounding
street and it is possible that this crack is from settling. I do not
yet know how long it has been there or if it has been looked at
professionally. The overall quality of the home is outstanding. High
quality building materials were used and the builder has a great local
reputation. The finish out is medium quality. There are no water lines
involved as all water delivery is run through the ceilings.

A picture of the exposed area can be found he
http://www.tekn0lust.com/images/slabcrack.jpg


So questions.

1)Is this a deal breaker?

2)Should I look into stabilization?

3)What is likely to happen to this in the future? We plan to stay in
this home for a long time.

Any other comments are greatly appreciated.

tM

I wouldn't be worried in the slightest over that crack unless it just
showed up or the floor is tilted at either side. Use a straight edge
and a marble to make sure everything is flat and level and then forget
about it.

It's near impossible to pour that much concrete without a crack or two.
Too bad about the tile in the kitchen. There are ways to lay tile
over a crack so it won't come through, should you decide to replace it.

-rev




themeanies wrote:
I can't imagine this is a rare problem, so if there is a better place to
research this please feel free to direct me elsewhere.

We have put a contract on a house and the inspection uncovered a crack
in the slab.

The home is 5 years old built on what used to be a cotton farm. The
area is now suburban with paved streets etc. The house is in a very dry
climate with temps ranging from 25-105F annually.

The crack in question is approximately 25 ft long and travels under two
walls. 4ft of the slab is exposed in the garage and the other 21 ft are
tile in the kitchen. The grout in the tile is cracked. The crack does
not seem to travel from one side of the slab to the other. The outer
edge of the slab is approximately 10 feet parallel to this crack. There
is what I assume is some very small shifting of the door frame into the
house from the garage. This door is perpendicular to the crack and
between the crack and the outer edge of the slab. Most of the rest of
the home is carpeted and I am unable to see any other telltale signs in
door frames or walls. The home is about 2 feet above the surrounding
street and it is possible that this crack is from settling. I do not
yet know how long it has been there or if it has been looked at
professionally. The overall quality of the home is outstanding. High
quality building materials were used and the builder has a great local
reputation. The finish out is medium quality. There are no water lines
involved as all water delivery is run through the ceilings.

A picture of the exposed area can be found he
http://www.tekn0lust.com/images/slabcrack.jpg


So questions.

1)Is this a deal breaker?

2)Should I look into stabilization?

3)What is likely to happen to this in the future? We plan to stay in
this home for a long time.

Any other comments are greatly appreciated.

tM

Anytime concrete is 12 feet or more in any one direction, it will
crack. That is the reason for saw cut contraction joints, tooled
contraction joints, and true construction joints. Most
residential floor slabs are not jointed. They will crack. This
is just as true on a huge commercial floor, a highway, or a
sidewalk. I suspect the crack was there before the ceramic floor.
IF the installer had seen the crack, he should have used an
isolation sheet like Dutra to bridge the crack or installed an
expansion joint in the tile.

I would not let the crack influence my decision. Consider the
cost of the advice.
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"themeanies" wrote in message
...
I can't imagine this is a rare problem, so if there is a better
place to research this please feel free to direct me elsewhere.

We have put a contract on a house and the inspection uncovered a
crack in the slab.

The home is 5 years old built on what used to be a cotton farm.
The area is now suburban with paved streets etc. The house is
in a very dry climate with temps ranging from 25-105F annually.

The crack in question is approximately 25 ft long and travels
under two walls. 4ft of the slab is exposed in the garage and
the other 21 ft are tile in the kitchen. The grout in the tile
is cracked. The crack does not seem to travel from one side of
the slab to the other. The outer edge of the slab is
approximately 10 feet parallel to this crack. There is what I
assume is some very small shifting of the door frame into the
house from the garage. This door is perpendicular to the crack
and between the crack and the outer edge of the slab. Most of
the rest of the home is carpeted and I am unable to see any
other telltale signs in door frames or walls. The home is about
2 feet above the surrounding street and it is possible that this
crack is from settling. I do not yet know how long it has been
there or if it has been looked at professionally. The overall
quality of the home is outstanding. High quality building
materials were used and the builder has a great local
reputation. The finish out is medium quality. There are no
water lines involved as all water delivery is run through the
ceilings.

A picture of the exposed area can be found he
http://www.tekn0lust.com/images/slabcrack.jpg


So questions.

1)Is this a deal breaker?

2)Should I look into stabilization?

3)What is likely to happen to this in the future? We plan to
stay in this home for a long time.

Any other comments are greatly appreciated.

tM

probably best to get a structural engineer look at it.

just on the off chance its serious

make sure no mining has occured in your area....

wrote:
probably best to get a structural engineer look at it.

Better to get a soils and foundations engineer. After five years, it should
have settled all it's going to, but some soils will settle for a long time. A
local soil/foundation expert will know if there are problematic soils in your
region. You might get all the info you need with a phone call.

Mike

Looks normal to me. Concrete cracks, there's no way around it. I have a
brand new house, with poured concrete basement walls less than a year old.
Some hairline cracks have appeared in the walls and floor. This doesn't
necessarily mean that it's a problem. Deal breaker? No. Price negotiation
tool? *YES*


"themeanies" wrote in message
...
I can't imagine this is a rare problem, so if there is a better place to
research this please feel free to direct me elsewhere.

We have put a contract on a house and the inspection uncovered a crack in
the slab.

The home is 5 years old built on what used to be a cotton farm. The area
is now suburban with paved streets etc. The house is in a very dry
climate with temps ranging from 25-105F annually.

The crack in question is approximately 25 ft long and travels under two
walls. 4ft of the slab is exposed in the garage and the other 21 ft are
tile in the kitchen. The grout in the tile is cracked. The crack does
not seem to travel from one side of the slab to the other. The outer edge
of the slab is approximately 10 feet parallel to this crack. There is
what I assume is some very small shifting of the door frame into the house
from the garage. This door is perpendicular to the crack and between the
crack and the outer edge of the slab. Most of the rest of the home is
carpeted and I am unable to see any other telltale signs in door frames or
walls. The home is about 2 feet above the surrounding street and it is
possible that this crack is from settling. I do not yet know how long it
has been there or if it has been looked at professionally. The overall
quality of the home is outstanding. High quality building materials were
used and the builder has a great local reputation. The finish out is
medium quality. There are no water lines involved as all water delivery
is run through the ceilings.

A picture of the exposed area can be found he
http://www.tekn0lust.com/images/slabcrack.jpg


So questions.

1)Is this a deal breaker?

2)Should I look into stabilization?

3)What is likely to happen to this in the future? We plan to stay in this
home for a long time.

Any other comments are greatly appreciated.

tM