Are these cracks in foundation cause for concern?

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Thanks for the insight. Come to think of it, the separation blocks occurred around where I had some leakage last year before I sealed the garage, though that may be coincedence.

Are hairlines outside no problem, too? We have some, but certainly outside there are no big separation issues.

not really, but you may want to caulk them for bugs.

Speaking of caulking, we had AC installed at the end of last year. About February of this year somebody was walking around in our basement and felt a chill, located where it was coming from and noticed that the clown who installed our AC, with holes through the concrete block to make it work, left a great gaping freaking hole there. It was a good square inch and let a lot of sub-freezing air in until I caulked 'er up!

 

[dyna]

imho, you don't have any issues. Cracks along mortar can happen during settling. Just remortar. The hairline appears looks like a shrinkage crack. That is normal during aging concrete as pressure increases as moisture is released over time and causes the crack. Although your crack is on a concrete block and not a solid piece of concrete, i don't know if that changes anything.

I had a foundation guy come to my house recently and he said if you have concrete, you will have cracks. If your wall looks like its bulging you might have a problem. Look at your windows for shifting. Rapid changes in elevation on your slab. He said a 4 inch change in elevation over a short run could mean a problem.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: dyna
imho, you don't have any issues. Cracks along mortar can happen during settling. Just remortar. The hairline appears looks like a shrinkage crack. That is normal during aging concrete as pressure increases as moisture is released over time and causes the crack. Although your crack is on a concrete block and not a solid piece of concrete, i don't know if that changes anything.

I had a foundation guy come to my house recently and he said if you have concrete, you will have cracks. If your wall looks like its bulging you might have a problem. Look at your windows for shifting. Rapid changes in elevation on your slab. He said a 4 inch change in elevation over a short run could mean a problem.

4 inches! I would think so!

Actually, from what I can tell, the concrete slab is still entirely crack free, which is a surprise to me as the house is two years old and has been through two winters. My house in bama had a crack in the concrete slab of the garage almost immediately--all of the neighbors did, but it was no issue.

Builder still hasn't called back about the cracks in the mortar for our tiles upstairs, though. That's causing some leakage and I want it fixed!

 

[KB]

I will tell you what my home inspector told me. Up and down cracks are OK. Horizontal cracks are bad.

 

[wyvrn]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Clay soil is dirt colored, so brownish, yep. Hard as all hell to dig, I might add.

I don't know if it's been unusually dry or not. Maybe a touch, but I didn't keep an eye on the crack to note its progression, unfortunately, so I don't know when it happened.

Clay is notorious for causing cracks in walls, etc.. In TX we have white clay, which is so dense I rented an auger and couldn't drill through it. We get cracks all the time, but each time the foundation company said it was normal seasonal shifting. Been luck so far, I guess.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: wyvrn

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Clay soil is dirt colored, so brownish, yep. Hard as all hell to dig, I might add.

I don't know if it's been unusually dry or not. Maybe a touch, but I didn't keep an eye on the crack to note its progression, unfortunately, so I don't know when it happened.

Clay is notorious for causing cracks in walls, etc.. In TX we have white clay, which is so dense I rented an auger and couldn't drill through it. We get cracks all the time, but each time the foundation company said it was normal seasonal shifting. Been luck so far, I guess.

Further away from the house, where the soil has not been moved, it is almost impossible to get through. I spent two hours this year digging a hole big enough for a pretty small tree. After the first few inches I had to go from shovel to pick, for every single morsel of dirt!

 

[FoBoT]

any chance of getting more crack :camera:'s?

 

[Alistar7]

It's bad news, take a seat. Illegal immigrants have tunneled under your home and destabilized your foundation.

 

[NoShangriLa]

Age of your house?

New foundation/wall move a bit in the first few years (contraction due to drying out concrete), also check your house warranty policies. Here in Canada it is common for builder to provide 1, 2, 5, and 10 years policies.

10 years warranty for foundation.

 

[GoingUp]

The only solution is for me to move in with you guys to keep an eye on it. I know there's an extra bedroom

 

[IGBT]

..may have a leaky sewer or water service causing foundation displacement.