HELP! buy or not??

buyerchris · 12-11-11, 06:31 AM

I need some advice, I put a condtional on inspection offer on a 8 year old house, after visiting the property a second time I noticed 2 small vertical cracks in the poured foudation aprox in the middle of the house, the house next door had a similar crack, I spoke with a home inspector he said "it was a shrinkage crack typical for the area" I am unable to see the inside wall because its finished, no evidence of water damage, and the sellers say they have never had a water problem, the inspection is on thursday I will be asking the inspector his thoughts on the cracks. HELP, is this reason not to purchase????? I would really like some feedback on this issue.

Thank you Chris

Xringer · 12-11-11, 09:41 AM

You need to talk the the folks living nearby. Ask them if they have ever had any water in their basements.

We moved into our 1956 house in 1973 and,
we've been getting a major flood in the basement about every 6 to 8 years..
There were some signs of past flooding, but they looked old,
and there wasn't even a pump installed in the sump.. (We were scammed)!
If I had it to do over again, we would not be living here!

Radon is also a concern too. Ask neighbors about that too. Small Cracks can let
radon into the house. And it can cost you extra to remedy the problem.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/other-...html#post18229

You can ask the sellers about the house, but if it's important, get a written reply.

buyerchris · 12-11-11, 10:04 AM

I am sorry to hear that, but that is my worry, I did talk with a home owner ten houses down the street they have lived there for 8 years and never had a water issue, it has been raining pretty consistent here for the past couple of weeks and the sump hole looks dry, the basement is drywall and I dont see any signs of water damage at all, but I want to make sure as we dont have the money to fix a major problem after the fact. I have been reseaching online and it looks pretty common for a poured foundation to crack in such a way "shrinkage cracks" in a vertical pattern no bigger then 1/32-1/16. Thank you for your reply.

Chris

Xringer · 12-11-11, 12:10 PM

I hope that ten-houses-down the street wasn't uphill..

My next door neighbor to the west never gets water like we do,
but their basement floor is about 8 feet higher than ours.
I'm not sure, but I think the granite bedrock was too high and they have
a much shallower basement hole than the other houses built here in 1956.

I did a house inspection a couple of years ago and the whole basement had been
re-done and almost all the walls had been covered up with sheet rock.
It had been done, (IMHO) so they could sell the house.
The workmanship and materials used wasn't very good at all.

But, there were traces of flooding in the exposed areas, and there was even
a small amount of damage to the bottom edge of some of the sheet rock.
It just took a while to find..

strider3700 · 12-11-11, 02:24 PM

Just a quick point. We don't get water in my house and it doesn't have a sump hole. My parents never get water in the house and don't have a sump hole. The only houses I know of that have sump holes have water issues. Maybe this is a location thing and every house gets a sump pump where you are. Here it's a serious warning sign.

buyerchris · 12-12-11, 07:18 PM

It is building code to have a sump pump in this city, when I looked at the house the sump pump wasnt even plugged in, possibly never been used. this is a 60 house subdivision and I would say the house is one of the highest points in the area.

Xringer · 12-12-11, 08:00 PM

You can look at the water intake ports on a sump pump and tell if it's ever been used..

High is good! When it comes to flooding, it's all about location, location, location..

If I live so long that we ever move to a new home, it will be on a hill top!

herlichka · 12-14-11, 06:23 AM

I don't know if a couple "small" cracks would scare me off, it's hard to find a house without some small imperfection. Trust your own senses, water leaks leave evidense, sometimes only a lingering odor, musty smell. If it is a subdivision scenario its possible that the foundation was poured in the late fall/early winter, and a bit of frost heaving may have occured before the building was closed in and the heat was on. If the hose is that new, you should be able to see the top line of the damproofing around the outside of the foundation, and look closely at it where it meets the hairline cracks. If the crack doesnt present on the surface of the damproofing, you should be OK. Again, on a newer home, the perimeter drain should be up to current standards, and also should be OK.

Higgy · 12-14-11, 09:07 AM

Chris, are you talking about the foundation WALL that has a crack in it, or the cement floor that has cracks in it? Where about's in Canada are you looking at homes?

Cracks in the slab of the house (cement floor) are normal for Winnipeg and the surrounding areas because we get so much frost and things tend to heave. If the house is older and it has some small cracks in it...that's fantastic because if it's been there for a while it's settled and chances are small that the cracks will get any bigger. So cracks in the basement floor are normal for this area. Just make sure the cracks are no bigger then a quarter inch. Thin cracks are fine, bigger cracks not so much.

Now if you're talking the foundation wall...that's different. Any cracks in the wall could be very bad. But I'm guessing more that you're talking about the floor. The floors in basements are normally made floating so that even if it moves the rest of the house is good.

If you do buy the house, I would get an energy audit done afterwards, and they'll check the radon for you and tell you what you need to do if there is any radon coming through.

Otherwise yeah...what Xringer said...ask around about flooding.

12-11-11, 06:31 AM	#1
buyerchris Lurking Renovator Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: canada Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	HELP! buy or not?? I need some advice, I put a condtional on inspection offer on a 8 year old house, after visiting the property a second time I noticed 2 small vertical cracks in the poured foudation aprox in the middle of the house, the house next door had a similar crack, I spoke with a home inspector he said "it was a shrinkage crack typical for the area" I am unable to see the inside wall because its finished, no evidence of water damage, and the sellers say they have never had a water problem, the inspection is on thursday I will be asking the inspector his thoughts on the cracks. HELP, is this reason not to purchase????? I would really like some feedback on this issue. Thank you Chris

12-11-11, 09:41 AM	#2
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	You need to talk the the folks living nearby. Ask them if they have ever had any water in their basements. We moved into our 1956 house in 1973 and, we've been getting a major flood in the basement about every 6 to 8 years.. There were some signs of past flooding, but they looked old, and there wasn't even a pump installed in the sump.. (We were scammed)! If I had it to do over again, we would not be living here! Radon is also a concern too. Ask neighbors about that too. Small Cracks can let radon into the house. And it can cost you extra to remedy the problem. http://ecorenovator.org/forum/other-...html#post18229 You can ask the sellers about the house, but if it's important, get a written reply. __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

12-11-11, 12:10 PM	#4
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	I hope that ten-houses-down the street wasn't uphill.. My next door neighbor to the west never gets water like we do, but their basement floor is about 8 feet higher than ours. I'm not sure, but I think the granite bedrock was too high and they have a much shallower basement hole than the other houses built here in 1956. I did a house inspection a couple of years ago and the whole basement had been re-done and almost all the walls had been covered up with sheet rock. It had been done, (IMHO) so they could sell the house. The workmanship and materials used wasn't very good at all. But, there were traces of flooding in the exposed areas, and there was even a small amount of damage to the bottom edge of some of the sheet rock. It just took a while to find.. __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

12-12-11, 08:00 PM	#7
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	You can look at the water intake ports on a sump pump and tell if it's ever been used.. High is good! When it comes to flooding, it's all about location, location, location.. If I live so long that we ever move to a new home, it will be on a hill top! __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

12-11-11, 10:04 AM	#3
buyerchris Lurking Renovator Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: canada Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I am sorry to hear that, but that is my worry, I did talk with a home owner ten houses down the street they have lived there for 8 years and never had a water issue, it has been raining pretty consistent here for the past couple of weeks and the sump hole looks dry, the basement is drywall and I dont see any signs of water damage at all, but I want to make sure as we dont have the money to fix a major problem after the fact. I have been reseaching online and it looks pretty common for a poured foundation to crack in such a way "shrinkage cracks" in a vertical pattern no bigger then 1/32-1/16. Thank you for your reply. Chris

12-11-11, 02:24 PM	#5
strider3700 Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver Island BC Posts: 745 Thanks: 23 Thanked 37 Times in 30 Posts	Just a quick point. We don't get water in my house and it doesn't have a sump hole. My parents never get water in the house and don't have a sump hole. The only houses I know of that have sump holes have water issues. Maybe this is a location thing and every house gets a sump pump where you are. Here it's a serious warning sign.

12-12-11, 07:18 PM	#6
buyerchris Lurking Renovator Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: canada Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	It is building code to have a sump pump in this city, when I looked at the house the sump pump wasnt even plugged in, possibly never been used. this is a 60 house subdivision and I would say the house is one of the highest points in the area.

12-14-11, 06:23 AM	#8
herlichka Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada Posts: 102 Thanks: 11 Thanked 15 Times in 10 Posts	I don't know if a couple "small" cracks would scare me off, it's hard to find a house without some small imperfection. Trust your own senses, water leaks leave evidense, sometimes only a lingering odor, musty smell. If it is a subdivision scenario its possible that the foundation was poured in the late fall/early winter, and a bit of frost heaving may have occured before the building was closed in and the heat was on. If the hose is that new, you should be able to see the top line of the damproofing around the outside of the foundation, and look closely at it where it meets the hairline cracks. If the crack doesnt present on the surface of the damproofing, you should be OK. Again, on a newer home, the perimeter drain should be up to current standards, and also should be OK.

12-14-11, 09:07 AM	#9
Higgy The Gardener Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Manitoba - Canada Posts: 492 Thanks: 17 Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts	Chris, are you talking about the foundation WALL that has a crack in it, or the cement floor that has cracks in it? Where about's in Canada are you looking at homes? Cracks in the slab of the house (cement floor) are normal for Winnipeg and the surrounding areas because we get so much frost and things tend to heave. If the house is older and it has some small cracks in it...that's fantastic because if it's been there for a while it's settled and chances are small that the cracks will get any bigger. So cracks in the basement floor are normal for this area. Just make sure the cracks are no bigger then a quarter inch. Thin cracks are fine, bigger cracks not so much. Now if you're talking the foundation wall...that's different. Any cracks in the wall could be very bad. But I'm guessing more that you're talking about the floor. The floors in basements are normally made floating so that even if it moves the rest of the house is good. If you do buy the house, I would get an energy audit done afterwards, and they'll check the radon for you and tell you what you need to do if there is any radon coming through. Otherwise yeah...what Xringer said...ask around about flooding.