Should a 6 y.o. home need foundation repair?

Question

My house was built in 2001, and we are starting to have problems with doors not closing and small verticle cracks inside. Is it strange that a house that new would need foundation repair? Is there something else that can be causing this? We are in north Texas and have a slab foundation. I will be calling some places for estimates, but wanted to get some ideas first. We are the second owners of this home built by DR Horton. Is it possible a builder's warranty might cover this? Our homeowners insurance only covers foundation repair caused by flooding. Thank you.

Answer 1

Houses do settle and wall cracks occur as a result. Vertical cracks can be fixed as they are normally cosmetic. BUT, horizontal cracks are serious!



Contact a reputable home inspector or a contractor who does foundation work for an estimation of the problem.



Is the house built on or near a ledge or close to a busy highway??



I'd check with the neighbors to see if they have similar problems. Speak with the contractor after you have all of the facts. Six years is a long time to hold the contractor liable unless it was in the sales agreement.

Answer 2

you got ripped off. a 6 year old foundation should not have any problems.

here's some possible causes.



1.The ground beneath your slab wasn't properly prepared.

and now it's starting to shift.



2. The cement mixture was to wet or not enough aggregate

was used when they poured it. this would account for

the vertical cracks.



3. They didn't use any steel re enforcement.

This also maybe a cause for the cracking.



4. The slab is too thin in certain areas or over all.

You need at least 8 inches of steel re enforcement.



Have you home inspected by the local housing authorities and get a notarized copy of the results just in case you may need a lawyer.

Answer 3

A slab house does not have a foundation. Its basically just concrete poured onto surface and then the structure is built on that using lumber.



Almost for sure your slab house has not settled. What is happening is your house probably has had some shrinkage problem in the wood studs, rafters, joists and so on.



About the only thing I think you need is a few adjustments here and there on the doors with a belt sander and a wood plane. Every house Ive ever seen after a couple of years needs doors refitted and a little here and a little there sanded off the doors. Its a common thing.

Answer 4

it sounds like the house has settled over the years. This is normal for any house. Yes concrete foundations will get small cracks in them from settling. But I'm sure rebar was used inside the foundation walls to keep small cracks from getting bigger. Settling will also make a door or two not close properly. You said it was on a slab, so you should have no problem with water. To get a door to be refitted to close if fair simple. If you are taking in water, there in an expoxy sealer that works great for stopping the problem permantly.

Answer 5

The fact is if the building inspector will not approve it, then all this talk stops right there. Call a residential architect/engineer and ask home much to come out and look at your garage and write up what needs to be done. Then go from there. I would say maybe $125-$200 for this. And also it's not really clear if you are adding a 2nd level over the existing garage, or if you are just building on an old garage slab? Either way you need the building inspectors approval or you could get a stop order put on anything you start without it.

Answer 6

First, you need to really check into any warranty that was transferred in the sale. Next, has the ground shifted or anything of this nature, is what i am wondering. Maybe a rainy season would cause this, or just plain 'ol Settling Foundation .. .I believe that can take a few years.

Have you had flooding?

Is there something else going on nearby that may cause geological disturbances?



1. Check for any warrantee

2. Check with county Surveyor (anything going on causing this, ask him if this is normal).

3. Hire a company to check it out, repair if necessary. Do not have one company do both. If they forsee a job the "check it out' will always reveal " in need of repair'

Answer 7

Howdy, neighbor!



Are you watering the foundation? This should be done on a regular basis, using a soaker hose.



My mom's house had one door that wouldn't stay open. When she watered the foundation, the problem disappeared.



Go ahead and check with your home builder to see if that warranty is still in effect. If not, shop around for foundation repair, as it can get expensive.

Answer 8

A six year or a twenty six year old home shouldn't be needing foundation repair. Apparently the contractor that built your home missed or omitted some critical steps in the pouring of your foundation. I would do everything in my power to find out who the contractor was and confront them with the problems your having. By law I believe the contractor is still liable for such an aggregious error.

Answer 9

it doesn't sound good when this happens but it could be that the earth is moving alil under the slab or settling it can settle up to 10-12 yrs but my answer is to make sure there's no landscape (tree's) problems like tree's root systems growing under the house second if it gets dry the ground will crack and give but i think you can get the builder to take a look at it its possible that he will fix it if he's a good one but very far and in between good luck!!!