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Yes, you have another month to call the builder and get him to correct it. I am certain you have a 1 year Homeowner's Warranty. Use it.
Garage floor problems
Hello,
We purchased a new construction home about 11 months ago. The garage floor is cracked all the way from front to back and is raising (crowning) in the middle a little over 1/2". Drainage outside the home is good, nothing coming close to the garage. I have checked towards the walls and its not sinking, just raising in the middle. Any idea what can be causing this?
Thanks,
Mark
We purchased a new construction home about 11 months ago. The garage floor is cracked all the way from front to back and is raising (crowning) in the middle a little over 1/2". Drainage outside the home is good, nothing coming close to the garage. I have checked towards the walls and its not sinking, just raising in the middle. Any idea what can be causing this?
Thanks,
Mark
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Yes, Absolutely, I have called him. After dealing with builder for 11 months it has been painful. he said he will stop by sometime this week in the afternoon to fix it. With that response I feel all he intends on doing is pour some concrete in the crack and call it a day. I feel there is something happening under the slab that is causing this, and until that problem is eliminated I will always have problems.
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I know you said there isn't anything wrong with the outer wall, but I feel it may be sinking. Let's see what he says.
Yep, Hopefully he will want to fix it properly!
Builders have licenses, bonds and insurance companies. All of which are not in his control.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Remember the builder probably did not pour the concrete. Time to call the AHJ and get an inspection, 3rd party neutral you want the report in writing. Then hire an attorney depending on what the report says.
No offence you bought the place seeing this? Or did i happen after you purchased the home.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Remember the builder probably did not pour the concrete. Time to call the AHJ and get an inspection, 3rd party neutral you want the report in writing. Then hire an attorney depending on what the report says.
No offence you bought the place seeing this? Or did i happen after you purchased the home.
Yes, He is bringing the concrete contractor with him. I have already called to get an inspector out here. It was new home, no cracks at the time, but I might add, it cracked very quickly after...
There are a ton of reasons for concrete to crack. My area requires post tension slabs. No choice in the matter. The garage door and front door have medallions in the slab saying post tension do not drill. Try to get the AHJ inspector out there as well. Even if you have to pay for him.
I am alluding to this is a big deal. I want you to realize my comments are WAG.
RECORD the meeting. Tell them you are recording. States have different laws about this.
My state used to be if one party knew the conversation was recorded then it was legal.
I had one builder who would call me and I would refuse to talk to him. I would meet in a public place where I had a copy of the conversation.
I am alluding to this is a big deal. I want you to realize my comments are WAG.
RECORD the meeting. Tell them you are recording. States have different laws about this.
My state used to be if one party knew the conversation was recorded then it was legal.
I had one builder who would call me and I would refuse to talk to him. I would meet in a public place where I had a copy of the conversation.
The first picture is showing a level across the crack and is nowhere level anymore. the picture with ruler shows the center of the garage floor has raised in the middle over half an inch
This builder would go nuts if I told him I was recording. In the past I wanted to send him a copy of the home inspection report and started yelling why do you want my address and other issues I wont bother to add.
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I know it is a moot point, now, but did the concrete contractor cut control joints across the floor? Mine did, and assured me the floor would crack, BUT it would crack where he told it to via the control joints. 22 years later, no spider cracks.
That is the first thing I asked about is it too late to add control cuts in floor, They said yes, Cannot add them. My last home (new construction) had control cuts. This home did not even start a crack untill 2 years later and they were small, the floor remained dead nuts flat for 7 years then we moved.
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Inform the builder in writing - copy the local building department permit section and engineering department. They had to have approved and signed off on the build and should have a vested interest to make sure they did not miss anything or that they did not get fooled by the contractor. Don't rely on word of mouth unless you followup with the conversation to verify you understanding in writing.
You could look up the terms of you building/purchase contract and remind the contractor about the warranty. That would also give you a chance to review who/how you do third party arbitration.
Good luck.
You could look up the terms of you building/purchase contract and remind the contractor about the warranty. That would also give you a chance to review who/how you do third party arbitration.
Good luck.
Pictures added, thanks.
Hmm, that's definitely an odd one, you normally see the outside perimeter drop when the center is raising. The only thing I can think of, and it's relatively rare in most situations, but the slab maybe curling slightly, but that almost always shows up soon after it's poured. Good luck, and post back after your meeting, for sure.
will do, Thanks
The floor will heave in the middle when it settles on the side. Yours appears to have done that. The concern here is when we see the pictures next to the wall the slab has not dropped from the wall.
I would guess that your wall is settling as well. Do you see any cracks in the drywall or are any windows out of square? Is the garage built right on the slab or is there a separate foundation wall.
A sunken slab can be fixed by slab jacking, a house settling is much more involved.
Sounds like your builder is questionable....I would have a witness with you at the meeting.
Also, don't bring up the control joints issue, lots of garages don't have them and that is not the cause of this problem. Compaction or pouring on poor soil made this failure happen. And that's exactly what this is, a failure.
A picture of outside of the garage with the effected wall would be nice.
I would guess that your wall is settling as well. Do you see any cracks in the drywall or are any windows out of square? Is the garage built right on the slab or is there a separate foundation wall.
A sunken slab can be fixed by slab jacking, a house settling is much more involved.
Sounds like your builder is questionable....I would have a witness with you at the meeting.
Also, don't bring up the control joints issue, lots of garages don't have them and that is not the cause of this problem. Compaction or pouring on poor soil made this failure happen. And that's exactly what this is, a failure.
A picture of outside of the garage with the effected wall would be nice.
Matt, It does not seem to me the slab has not settled near the walls but I am no expert. There is only one crack in the corner wall, it goes up about 12",its in one of the attached pics. other than that I see no cracks. I have contacted an inspector to inspect the entire house foundation. Thanks for the info. Mark
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