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kimgill_gw

please help cracked garage floor

kimgill
13 years ago

I am getting really close, like next week, of contacting a realitor to put my house on the market. Today, i was cleaning out the garage and see a 1/4 inch crack right up the center of my garage leading straight into the middle of my house which is my laundry room, We have had tons of rain in Mississippi this year and I noticed 2 tiles in my laundry room busted so I had them replaced last week and cant say I remember there being a crack under the tiles.

What am i to do with the crack should I try to seal it or just leave it as it. My house is 25 years old.

Should I try to put a coat of something on the garage floor..

Please help

Comments (11)

  • creek_side
    13 years ago

    What kind of foundation do you have? Is it slab?

  • qdwag
    13 years ago

    every home i've owned has had cracks on garage floor, some fairly significant,others not so...Unless you believe the broken tiles are related to the crack in garage floor, i wouldn't give it a second thought

  • kimgill
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    I am on a slab, thanks

  • logic
    13 years ago

    Whether you leave it as is, or repair,chances are very high it will be noticed by any home inspector who performs a thorough job, and most if not all buyers will want to know the cause in order to have an idea if it may get worse, or if more cracks may appear.

    Therefore, you may want to consider hiring a licensed structural engineer (P.E.) in order to determine if it really is an issue..or not.

    Chances are you will have to face the question anyway at the time of inspection. It is up to you to decide if you would rather be prepared, or just roll the dice and hope it goes unnoticed.

  • creek_side
    13 years ago

    If you are on expansive clay, then that crack could be due to all the rain and might need to be dealt with, especially since it appears to be radiating into the slab. Those cracked tiles could have been caused by slab movement.

    I suggest discussing this with a knowledgeable Realtor. Local market issues are best understood by local pros. It might be something that should be dealt with before you list. It might be nothing. The Realtor should be able to advise you on market impact and who, if anyone, to bring in to deal with it.

  • logic
    13 years ago

    creekside: "The Realtor should be able to advise you on market impact and who, if anyone, to bring in to deal with it."

    No need to ask a Realtor for advice unless the Realtor is also a licensed structural engineer, as determining the proper course of action with regard to issues such as this is beyond the scope of their education and profession.

    Only a licensed professional STRUCTURAL engineer can provide an assessment that is LEGALLY meaningful.

    Everyone else's opinion is just that...an opinion...and as we all know, everyone has one. ;-)

  • jane__ny
    13 years ago

    I sold my home in March. My garage floor had so many cracks it looked terrible. But they were there for as long as I could remember. We played with the idea of repairing them, but estimates were so high we didn't do it.

    Didn't seem to bother anyone and I don't know if the inspector pointed it out to my buyer, but it was never brought up.

    Jane

  • FatHen
    13 years ago

    The slab foundation in one of our houses cracked similar to how you describe. It was foundation failure. Repair estimates for that defect alone were well into the tens of thousands. Patching cracks is not repair. The cause for the cracking needs to be fixed. Your state laws probably require some sort of disclosure or at the very least have laws against concealment like cosmetic patching.

    I agree w/logic to get a good structural engineer. No one concerned with the sale going thru is looking out for you. Beware of experts a real estate agent recommends--they sometimes recommend experts who are willing to overlook problems. All the risk is on you; to avoid future legal problems be sure your buyer is fully informed and that the documentation of the sale reflects this. When we sold our house, we had our own attorney rather than use 'standard' real estate sales contracts, so that it was apparent in the paper trail that our buyer had all the info we did on our house's problems.

  • creek_side
    13 years ago

    "No need to ask a Realtor for advice unless the Realtor is also a licensed structural engineer, as determining the proper course of action with regard to issues such as this is beyond the scope of their education and profession."

    That crack may well be nothing. Someone local who is knowledgeable about houses in general is in a much better position to make recommendations than someone who is going from a vague description.

    If everyone who had a crack appear in their garage floor ran out and hired a licensed structural engineer to evaluate it, we would soon run out of structural engineers.

    Cracks in garage floors are common. Common sense should be applied first. A structural engineer should be called in only if there is some indication or a serious problem. Someone local who is knowledgeable about houses is in a much better position to evaluate the need for a structural engineer than anyone here. A RE agent is certainly the one to ask about potential market issues.

  • lyfia
    13 years ago

    Some cracks are nothing to worry about and others are. Try doing a search on what to look for on google or your search engine of choice. I found the one below.

    If it is sounds from the descriptions that it could be something to worry about then I'd consult a structural engineer.

    Here is a link that might be useful: evaluate cracks in concrete

  • logic
    13 years ago

    creekside: "Someone local who is knowledgeable about houses is in a much better position to evaluate the need for a structural engineer than anyone here. A RE agent is certainly the one to ask about potential market issues."

    "Because the Realtor said so" no longer cuts it with most folks. Read the posts on this forum long enough and you will see that to be true, even in areas in which the REA is supposedly educated.

    That said, apprently you are unaware of the fact that REA's are, by training, not "knowledgeable" about structural issues.

    Therefore, the fact remains that the OP has only two logical choices. They can just list the home with the crack as is...and hope no questions or concerns arise.

    Or...they can attempt to get a definitive answer by the appropriately licensed professional (aka a structural P.E.) because, as I said, THAT will be the only answer that is legally meaningful.

    The REA opinion will be nothing short of moot for any educated buyer who has a concern.