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Posted by on June 13, 2007, 12:43 am
i recently bought a brand new home in the tampa florida area. 3 weeks
into living in the new home a crack formed straight across the home in
the same place from one end of the house to another, and now the crack
is spreading up an outside facing wall in my kitchen. the builder
inspected the crack and said the crack was cosmetic, however, my
family has been in construction for YEARS and seemed to indicate that
this could be a structural issue in the slab foundation, and i agree
with my families opinion. can anyone else give me an opinion on this?
i dont think i should have a crack running from one end of the house
to the other on the floor within 3 WEEKS!! UUUUGH!!!
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Posted by hawgeye on June 13, 2007, 7:18 am
>i recently bought a brand new home in the tampa florida area. 3 weeks
> into living in the new home a crack formed straight across the home in
> the same place from one end of the house to another, and now the crack
> is spreading up an outside facing wall in my kitchen. the builder
> inspected the crack and said the crack was cosmetic, however, my
> family has been in construction for YEARS and seemed to indicate that
> this could be a structural issue in the slab foundation, and i agree
> with my families opinion. can anyone else give me an opinion on this?
> i dont think i should have a crack running from one end of the house
> to the other on the floor within 3 WEEKS!! UUUUGH!!!
I really depends on the size,shape, depth, etc. of the crack. Concrete
cracks, however, to what extent is the question. You do have a new home
warranty don't you?
Of course the builder is going to say it is cosmetic, what did you expect.
And it could be, but he's certainly not going to start digging up your floor
to fix it.
I would contact an engineer that specializes in concrete construction. I
would document (take pictures) everything, and contact a lawyer.
--
hawgeye ©
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Posted by CWatters on June 13, 2007, 12:25 pm
> I would contact an engineer that specializes in concrete construction. I
> would document (take pictures) everything, and contact a lawyer.
I'm afraid I agree. Get it looked at by an independant professional -
ideally one who doesn't mind giving evidence. A Structural Engineer perhaps.
I wouldn't let your builder do any rectification work until it's been
confirmed as cosmetic by someone else.
Here in the UK new houses almost allways come with a 10 year structural
warranty insurance policy. To get this the builder has to have the
foundations and other key stages inspected. Not sure if something like this
is standard in the USA but if it is you should probably involve them at an
early stage.
Don't have anyone else fix the problem until you have resolved the issue of
who is going to pay.
Good luck.
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Posted by on June 13, 2007, 2:32 pm
On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 21:43:20 -0700, cwelbourne81@gmail.com wrote:
>i recently bought a brand new home in the tampa florida area. 3 weeks
>into living in the new home a crack formed straight across the home in
>the same place from one end of the house to another, and now the crack
>is spreading up an outside facing wall in my kitchen. the builder
>inspected the crack and said the crack was cosmetic, however, my
>family has been in construction for YEARS and seemed to indicate that
>this could be a structural issue in the slab foundation, and i agree
>with my families opinion. can anyone else give me an opinion on this?
>i dont think i should have a crack running from one end of the house
>to the other on the floor within 3 WEEKS!! UUUUGH!!!
Not to wish trouble on you, but given the recent weather in Tampa, you
could be looking at a sinkhole problem. A recent customer of mine had
one. He contacted his insurance company, who hired an engineer to
evaluate the problem and recommend a fix.
Glen
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Posted by on June 14, 2007, 5:26 pm
Yes, definitely hire your own professional(s), ones who are competent
and not in bed with the builder. Also document everything and have
written proof that your builder was notified of this problem.
Builders will call just about any crack "cosmetic," even when it seems
ridiculous. Calling it that doesn't make it so. You need to find out
if you have early signs of big problems before any critical deadlines
pass.
In FL there is a law re: construction defects, generically known as
"right to cure" or similar terms, depending on what state you're in.
These laws almost always require the homeowner to follow a strict set
of steps, and if you guessed the law favors builders you'd be right.
The statute in FL is Title 33, Chapter 58, 558.001 through 558.005
http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=Ch0558/titl0558.htm&StatuteYear=2005&Title=%2D%3E2005%2D%3EChapter%20558
Home warranties can come in a few forms. They can be contractrually
or statutorily provided by the builder and that type is typically one
year. Another common type is a separate 3rd party policy from a home
warranty co. The later has so many exceptions they are pretty much
just a marketing tool, and most claims that are denied and then
disputed can be squelched in the co's arbitration process.
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