is this spalling?

[Pat]

Hi all -

I noticed some cracking / crumbling at the base of my home in 2 spots , on the half of the house that's on a slab as well as a slightly larger than hairline crack. We moved in 2 years ago, and I know the crumbling wasn't this bad. House is from 77. Does anyone know what the cause could be?

 

[nealtw]

Picture 1. That crack should be monitored for changing. put a permanent mark on each side say about 4" apart and record the distance, check it for changes 4 times a year. If it does move it may go back with seasonal changes.
Picture 2. To the left we can see some repairs were made or something covered up, like at the time it was new and they don't always stick all that good. The bigger chunk missing was missing when it was painted , the white spot looks like something was stuck there like a leaf when the wall was painted.
Picture 3.. same as picture 1. we can see paint in the crack so this is not newer than the last paint job.

 

[Pat]

Thank you VERY much Neal. Good advice and good eye of course. I will certainly track this.
Should we fill these (professionally) - i think there's some type of expanding concrete mix i read it used for these issues.

Picture 1. That crack should be monitored for changing. put a permanent mark on each side say about 4" apart and record the distance, check it for changes 4 times a year. If it does move it may go back with seasonal changes.
Picture 2. To the left we can see some repairs were made or something covered up, like at the time it was new and they don't always stick all that good. The bigger chunk missing was missing when it was painted , the white spot looks like something was stuck there like a leaf when the wall was painted.
Picture 3.. same as picture 1. we can see paint in the crack so this is not newer than the last paint job.

 

[nealtw]

Thank you VERY much Neal. Good advice and good eye of course. I will certainly track this.
Should we fill these (professionally) - i think there's some type of expanding concrete mix i read it used for these issues.

I would just watch it and make sure things are not changing.
When selling a house a written record and pictures with dates on them go a long way to having an inspector to say, no problem.
Some foundations have steel rebar in them, if you ever see that exposed. It wants to be cleaned up painted and covered with hydraulic cement.
If steel is exposed it will rust, expand and break concrete.

You can patch with hydraulic cement but that will bring up more questions for an inspector.

 

[Pat]

Roger that! Thanks again - very much appreciated.

I would just watch it and make sure things are not changing.
When selling a house a written record and pictures with dates on them go a long way to having an inspector to say, no problem.
Some foundations have steel rebar in them, if you ever see that exposed. It wants to be cleaned up painted and covered with hydraulic cement.
If steel is exposed it will rust, expand and break concrete.

You can patch with hydraulic cement but that will bring up more questions for an inspector.

 

[slownsteady]

Might have been a window there before the deck was built. What does it look like from the inside?

 

[slownsteady]

Where is the crack in picture 1 in relation to the deck?

 

[Pat]

Hi SnS --

Looks fine from the inside (pics 1 and 2 - pic 3 is in the kitchen and there are cabinets there). It's all a slab (no basement) on that side of the house

Might have been a window there before the deck was built. What does it look like from the inside?

 

[Pat]

Pic 1 is the right side of the house 10 ft. away from the deck which spans the width of the back of the house, so it's perpendicular to the deck. The house is on a slope, half slab, half basement. It's 3k sf across one level so it's wide.

Where is the crack in picture 1 in relation to the deck?

 

[stadry]

where is the pic let alone which #,,, 'spalling' is the fracturing of material as a result of movement on both sides,,, eg, if a crack were to constantly move, that action would cause both sides to grind against each other,,, you can either measure & monitor OR place some patching plaster & watch what happens