Foundation Cracks Outside Above Ground

[Dan Russell]

I bought a ranch style house that was built in 1930. At some point, there was an addition added, not sure when, but must be a few decades ago at least. I had it inspected before purchase and there were a few stair step cracks in the foundation that was added on. They are visible outside, above ground. The inspector wasn't concerned.

The house had terrible gutters and downspouts that were just letting water pour right next to the house. The inspector pretty much said get the water away from the house and it should be fine. Besides this, we loved the house, especially for the price so we bought anyway.

I had a new roof, new seamless gutters, and downspouts installed to direct the roof runoff away from the house. But when I look at these cracks now that I own the house, they're starting to concern me.

So on one hand, I'm thinking, "If this is what has happened in the last 70 years, and I got the water away from the house, it should be fine." And on the other hand, I'm worried its actually worse than I thought when I bought the house. Any one with any expertise have any opinions?

 

[Sparky617]

If they haven't grown over time, they probably aren't a problem. You could have them repointed to better seal them, and parge/stucco over the entire foundation to smooth it out.

 

[nealtw]

https://inspectapedia.com/structure/Diagonal_Cracks_in_Block_Foundations.php

It looks like it has been repaired more than once which would mean they never solved the problem.
Could just be roof water causing a problem or it could be ground water affecting the footing. Or just poor soil under that section of footing.

 

[itsreallyconc]

'patching' is never a 'repair',,, repairs might include conc underpinning, steel stitching bars, & grout filled cells in cmu wall