semidevil

I live in a new construction, built in 2006. today, I saw this in my backyard:

http://img227.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img00190hg0.jpg
http://img134.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img00191co7.jpg
http://img134.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img00192ny5.jpg

this is kind of scaring me. I touched the corner and the piece is kind of loose. Looks like I can probably pull that piece out.

1. is this bad?
2. is this something urgent that needs to be fixed?
3. how do I fix it? can I just patch it up with cement?

guyod

Is there any damage that you can see from the basement?

sunroom wizard

It looks as though there has been some water damage before. I get this from the sealant someone slathered on there. I would try binders to tie it back into itself. then skimcoat it with a good parging agent. This might serve as a temp fix only if it continues to pull away from itself.

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semidevil

I do not have a basement.

what are 'binders? btw, is this considered 'bad?" I mean, could this lead to serious foundation problems with the home?

guyod

If you have a crawl space look in there

glennjanie

If this is the only location that is cracked it will not cause the house to fall down, it is just and eyesore especially on a new house. If you can contact the original contractor, even though the 1 year warranty has passed, he should come over and repair it under warranty. It looks bad on the contractor and just a little bad word-of-mouth can be very damaging to him.
If he won't talk to you, you can break the cracked portion out, clean the space with a stiff brush and water, brush on an epoxy bonding agent, make some very stiff sackreet and apply it to rebuild the corner. Use a damp sponge trowel to rub it to the existing concrete. Keep it just damp and rub it in with the sponge several times at 1/2 hour intervals; this will keep it from drying out too quick and re-cracking.
Glenn