Hi all,
Adding to my assorted housing crises, today I was ripping up some carpet in order to prepare to install wood flooring for a nursery when I found this crack in the slab.
It runs underneath the drywall and out of sight, and spans the entire width of the room. It begins from an exterior wall and runs under the opposite wall into a living space -- I can't tell how far it goes after that since there is hardwood flooring that I haven't ripped up (hopefully it doesn't come to that).
There doesn't appear to be any shearing, although there is very sight (1-2mm vertical displacement).
We have not noticed any other structural problems in the house, but then again we haven't really been looking. No cracks in drywall that we've found, and all the doors and windows open and close ok so far.
The house is built on a raised slab atop some kind of fill, as are most houses in this neighborhood and area (eastern NC). It was built in 2003 and there were no records in closing that indicated any foundation issues.
The house is single story (plus room over garage) and approximately 2000 sqft.
Are the only real options:
1.) Sell at a discount
2.) Wait it out and hope it doesn't get worse
3.) Major structural repair (helical piers, etc.)
I'm guessing a crack like this can't just be patched effectively. Is it safe to assume that the flooring in the entire house will have to be removed to assess the severity of the problem?
I am not sure what the perimeter drainage situation is around this house. I do know that the gutters are very poorly drained via downspouts that deposit only a foot or so from the foundation -- this is something I had been planning to fix regardless, before I knew about the foundation problem. I've also seen that the condensate line from the air conditioner deposits right next to the foundation -- it's not much water, but it's at a constant drip during the summer.
Am I looking at over $10,000 possibly?
Thank you for any help you can offer. I guess it's safe to say my wood flooring project will be on hold for some time to come
Adding to my assorted housing crises, today I was ripping up some carpet in order to prepare to install wood flooring for a nursery when I found this crack in the slab.
It runs underneath the drywall and out of sight, and spans the entire width of the room. It begins from an exterior wall and runs under the opposite wall into a living space -- I can't tell how far it goes after that since there is hardwood flooring that I haven't ripped up (hopefully it doesn't come to that).
There doesn't appear to be any shearing, although there is very sight (1-2mm vertical displacement).
We have not noticed any other structural problems in the house, but then again we haven't really been looking. No cracks in drywall that we've found, and all the doors and windows open and close ok so far.
The house is built on a raised slab atop some kind of fill, as are most houses in this neighborhood and area (eastern NC). It was built in 2003 and there were no records in closing that indicated any foundation issues.
The house is single story (plus room over garage) and approximately 2000 sqft.
Are the only real options:
1.) Sell at a discount
2.) Wait it out and hope it doesn't get worse
3.) Major structural repair (helical piers, etc.)
I'm guessing a crack like this can't just be patched effectively. Is it safe to assume that the flooring in the entire house will have to be removed to assess the severity of the problem?
I am not sure what the perimeter drainage situation is around this house. I do know that the gutters are very poorly drained via downspouts that deposit only a foot or so from the foundation -- this is something I had been planning to fix regardless, before I knew about the foundation problem. I've also seen that the condensate line from the air conditioner deposits right next to the foundation -- it's not much water, but it's at a constant drip during the summer.
Am I looking at over $10,000 possibly?
Thank you for any help you can offer. I guess it's safe to say my wood flooring project will be on hold for some time to come