2500CTD

Ok My house got flooded during the 300 hurricanes FL had. The carpet had to get removed because we only had about 2" wtr inside. The yard had like 2.5-3'! Upon removing the carpet we noticed a crap in the foundation, seems to be a little bigger than a normal settling crack. Called the insurance, they had some ground sample taken for sinkholes. No sinkholes found, so insurance is not responsible. Would a home inspector be able to tell if the foundation is good? I plan on replacing the lower 4' of drywall, might have to rebuild a couple interior walls. I dont mind this as we love the house, but dont want to get to far into the house if it is better to tear it down and rebuild it. I doubt its that bad, but dunno if anyone here has dealt with this, or can give me any advice. I'm totally lost on this, but wanting to learn!!

jman

Hey 2500CTD, where in FL is your house, of what I know about foundations, they all crack at some time, most of the time if its big enofe all you need to do if fill it up with sealer, from what you have said I doudt the home needs to be tour down.
Jman

2500CTD

I'm in Zephyrhills. From the flooding I will probably need to replace the doors and the bottom section of drywall at least. What kind of sealer?

P.J

Cracks happen.
It's likely that a home inspector will simply say "yup, it's a crack. Watch it, if it changes call a Structural Engineer".
There are plenty of things that can be done with existing foundations. Water can be tricky with foundations, but it usually has more to do with not having a positive grade away from the house. Your username say's Oregon, but we are talking Florida here right? No Basement? I don't know much about the South, better not listen to me.
The make sealer in a caulk tube that is easy to use, kinda like mortor.

jman

Any hardware store will have the sealer , there are many kinds, in a caulk tube, or mix with water, I have used the tube ones. on the walls , the bottom plate will be find due to this will be treated wood, the wall studs are not , just look at them, If some look worped are starting to get soft, you can cut out just the part that is bad and make a repaire joint, I am in north west fl , that what we are doing here, most of the time the wall studs are fine,
hope this helps
jman

spunbearing

Monolithic slabs always crack. A home inspectors job is to point out defects and they are under no obligation to determine the cause. If you want to know the cause you need to hire a structural engineer. Describe the crack to me or take a photo of it. Is one side raised higher than the other? Is it multiple cracks that radiate from a particular area? Does it start out narrow and get wider or does it start out wide and get narrow?get a level and see if the slab is still level in that area. Most often cracks are caused by the slab settling. If most of the slab settles and one area doesn't settle as much you will get a V shaped crack wider at the top and narrower at the bottom. Generally speaking if the crack is less than 1/4 inch and less than 10% of your slab area is effected and one side hasn't raised higher than the other I wouldn't worry about it. I would inject epoxy in the crack and forget about it. Don't just use a sealer. I have experience with structural masonry repair after earthquakes etc. You're far better off using a structural repair epoxy to bond the slab back together. Just my never to be humble opinion.

spunbearing

Now you have my curiosity. Walk around the house and close doors and inspect the gap. Are you having any problems closing doors? Do you have any cracking in the plaster radiating from the upper corners of your door frames at a 45 degree angle?

(edit) These are the products that I like to use for crack repair. I prefer ETI injection epoxy but it requires a double barrel caulking gun. If you don't have one you can use crack pac assuming that the crack is minor and not multiple plane ( raised). Good luck.

http://www.simpsonanchors.com/catalo...urce=hpbuttons

2500CTD

pjsnyder76 - Yes currently I'm in OR but the house is in FL, I have to move back there to take care of my dad. Nope no basement

Spunbearing - I'm in OR now, but I'll see if my dad can take some pictures of the cracks and look for any cracks at the door frames, during the flood he said he thought the whole house shift since all the doors were hard to open and close. Knowing him he probably frogot to take into account that the standing water affected the doors and frames. If he can't get the pics, I'll take them when I get down there in mid June. I saw the cracks and cannot even guess to how wide they were, sorry. Thanks for the help, I'll keep you posted.

P.J

I think you'll be okay, up here if we get wet we are more concerned with Mold and Mildew (than anything), probably not much of an issue in your climate though.

spunbearing

You stated that they did soil sampling. You may not have a sink hole but you may want to check the soil sample report because rather than sinking, expansive soils may have raised portions of your slab. The soil report should show soil composition. In my opinion your insurance could also be liable to cover damage caused by expansive soils.

bmoeller

My grandparents live there.

2500CTD

I'll try to get a copy of the report. Not sure exactly what was done other than drilling till they hit limestone. Thanks for the input.

If they are like the other 50% of the population, they only live there a couple months outta the yr. I swear, during tourist season the pop, doubles!!

for the curious Zephyrhills

homeloanjoe

one question i would have to ask is how long has the crack been there? did you just notice it when you started to gut the house after the flood? i agree if doors are hard to open and walls are starting to crack, there might be a problem. structual engineer is the one to speak with about it, home inspectors just find the problems, they can not tell you how to fix them.

the other thing i check for when i buy a house with foundation cracks, are the exterior walls, is the mortar starting to crack as well?

2500CTD

Noticed the crack when the carpets got pulled, so i cant say if it was there before or not. I went back home for a little and the doors seemed all fine from what I remember, so I 'm guessing they swelled from the water. When I go back in June I'll do a complete walk through.
Don't remember the exterior walls off hand. I'll check them when I go back.

homeloanjoe

i would be willing to bet it was a settling crack and may have been there for a long time. doubt the flooding caused it....still should get some attn though.