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Thanks again casseopeia. Our structural engineer's opinion is that our house has to come down. This house is only 7 years old and has major differential settlement. Our expansive soil moves with the rains and dry spells here in Texas, which of course can be very unpredictable. Too bad that...

Thanks TomBarsh for the Open Letter. I have printed it out and would only hope that more home owners would be enlightened before their purchase. I am well aware of the TRCC and the inadequacies thereof. Many of us are hopeful that HB3404 will pass this year. At least it would be an...

Thanks Casseopeia: We have a 2 story, post-tension foundation on expansive soil, in the Houston unincorporated area, that is labeled as: "Extremely non uniform, below typical industry standard", (cables range from approx 1 inch to over 5" in the 4 inch slab, one cable has never been stressed...

How can a structural engineer make a decision, or give an opinion, when he or she cannot visually see what the problem is? Our completed home has built in problems and continued developing problems. Destructive investigation cannot be done, therefore our Structural Engineer can only give an...

Our Post-tension foundation has cables that range from one inch in depth in the 4"slab, to over 5 inches. Some of the cables that are 5 " are not in beams. One cable was never stressed and ranges from less than 2" to over 5". The soil is virgin, expansive, and did not have the required 4...

Thank you for all of the suggestions. Another thought is what may happen if trying to level the foundation, to the walls, ceilings and floors that have been built to the original highs and lows of the foundation. We now do have cracking of walls and ceilings, windows that won't open, eaves etc...

Our home was built on 'virgin' soil. The area soil tests called for at least a 4" layer of sand, compaction, etc. No site preparation plans can be found. The builder's pre-pour inspection report, by an unlicensed inspector, shows no compacted fill, no quantity of tendons, no Plasticity...

And what might a "Cadillac Fix" involve? The County Appraisal District has already devalued the house over 50% and said they would have taken it to 0% except for the fact that we are living in it. The 10 year warranty costs as much or more to place a claim, and prove defects, than a Court case...

Thank you Techmaximus for your informative, expert, eloquent and truthful reply. My husband and I have been in litigation in District Court, since 1999, no 10 year warranty involved. We are seniors who always felt the production builder and the PT CO tried hard to knowingly cover up what they...

Thank you so much MotorCity for your much needed clarifications. Yes, the 7000 psi is the final stress according to the PT CO written report. Thank you again.

No,the house is 6 years old, the concrete was 20 days when the cables were stressed. Should the PT CO have known the elongation of the cables prior to final stress? The PT Co wants to rethread the unstressed and broken cable, however there is no plan that shows exactly where the anchored end is...

Our home is built on expansive soil in the Houston, TX area. Our builder 'forgot' to have the post tension cables in our foundation tested for elongation prior to the final stressing. The PT CO just did the final stressing and even overlooked stressing at least one cable. Should the PT CO...

Our builder 'forgot' to call the Post-Tension CO to test the cables in our foundation for elongation. The PT CO just did a final stressing, even overlooking one cable completely. Should the PT CO have gone ahead, as they did, and done a final stressing without an elongation measurement and...

Hi pmkPE: The production builder and the Post Tension Supplier states there are no design drawings, no site preparation plans, no inspections in which to find our cables. Our Geotechnical engineer's R meter did not detect the cable that was found 5 inches deep, and can find no other cables than...

Hi AlohaBob: This is a 6 year old Post Tension foundation that apparently has no signed and sealed plans, site preparation, or inspections. At least the production builder and the Post Tension Supplier have 'lost' the plans, according to Court admissions. Our Geotech, through core samples...

Thank you for your reply. Yes, I have contacted Hardiplank, however, no answer back as yet. Somehow I feel I will be surprised if I do receive an answer. The more houses I view I am beginning to think that Hardiplank of the past 6-8 years of age may have a moisture problem of some kind. Our...

All homes in our neighborhood have horizontal Hardiplank siding on the second floor. Why does this siding 'sweat' and produce a vertical green algae that has to be pressure washed every year, even on the West sides where the summer sun hits all day long. Does this have something to do with the...

Why Does horizontal Hardiplank siding develop vertical sweaty appearance on so many houses in the Houston TX area. These sweaty areas turn green and appear to be a type of algae, which has to be removed by pressure washing every year. Does this have something to do with lack of moisture barrier...

Does the Uniform Building Code, which we understand is the standard for construction, require a residential Post Tension Foundation be constructed from a signed, sealed, engineered design for a particular structure? Should there be soil samples for a site preparation plan? Should there be...

Thank you JAE for your reply. Our structural engineer did say that the International Residential Code would cover our home. I am still confused concerning the Uniform Building Code, and whether or not it was in effect prior to the IRC in 1997, concerning Post Tension Foundation Codes. Our...