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tjain_seattle

Is this a structural problem in the house I just bought

tjain_seattle
10 years ago

I noticed this in the garage today. A number of cracks close to the wall and the door to the yard. Do these look like structural damages? This is very scary

Comments (10)

  • tjain_seattle
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    more pics..

  • tjain_seattle
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    more pics...

  • tjain_seattle
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    and more....

  • christopherh
    10 years ago

    That's the garage floor? It looks like settlement. How old is the house?

  • tjain_seattle
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    The house was built in 1996. Is this problematic? Should the inspector have caught this. This is so obvious I dont think he would miss it.

  • tjain_seattle
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    To be clear, yes this is the garage floor and its just near the wall and the garage backdoor entrance

  • jonw9
    10 years ago

    I wouldn't be terribly concerned. It seems to be possibly where the garage floor meets the footings. I believe there is typically a small gap or curb that is filled with the fiber board stuff.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Example

  • jonw9
    10 years ago

    Mystery double post.

    This post was edited by jonw9 on Thu, Oct 3, 13 at 14:48

  • Bruce in Northern Virginia
    10 years ago

    In most cases the garage floor is poured separate from the footings for the walls, so there is a joint between the two parts of the concrete. Its unsightly to have the cracks form, but may not mean there is a major structural problem. The floor has settled a little more than the footings, but the cracks in the pictures are small.
    FYI - this is the same way most basement floors are poured separate from the footings.

    The only complete fix would be do remove the garage floor and pour new cement, but that would expensive. Unless these cracks get worse, I would either ignore them or put a light skim coat/patch over the top to fill them in.

    Bruce

  • mepop
    10 years ago

    There are many reasons for basement slabs to have cracks and yes, they are normal under normal circumstances. As concrete cures, it will shrink a 1/16â for every 10 feet. Issues such as soil compaction or soil losing moisture over time can cause cracks.

    With that, the photos show some unusual construction techniques but that doesnâÂÂt mean it is bad construction. The slab was poured next to another slab for reasons unknown. The gap is because the two slabs were poured at separate times and these are not settlement cracks.

    It doesnâÂÂt appear one slab is higher or lower than the other so they likely pinned the side of the existing slab with rebar before they poured the second slab.

    What should be looked at is the wood trim down on the concrete. It looks like your base and door trim is taking on moisture and you may have some issues with damaged trim and mold down the road. If the trim is on the lab, is the drywall also. If the drywall is resting on the slab, it will soak up moisture from the concrete and cause mold problems.