A new home with potential foundation problem 3

[awharris]

I recently purchased a new home (less than one year old) in Mississippi. Today I noticed a vertical crack (exterior) above a window that extends from the top of the window all the way to the top of the wall. The crack follows the mortar between bricks and actually passes through one brick. The width of the crack is approximately 2/16 of an inch. This area of MS is infamous for foundation problems and I am already very concerned. Afraid I don't know much about structural engineering (vertical vs. horizontal cracks), so any advice would be helpful. I haven't noticed any major interior defects as of yet. I'd like to fix any potential problem before it gets worse. Thanks.

 

[gandersen]

awharris:

I practiced geotechnical engineering in Mississippi up until a few years ago. Where in the state is your home? If it is on expansive clays, then I have several specific pieces of advise that I could give to you.

Glen

 

[dicksewerrat]

I hate to say this but, call your lawyer. Less than a year old, the builder and real estate agent need to be brought into this problem. You are going to need all the reprots from consultants and probably your own geotech. engr. Call the local permitting authority and get all their records on your house. Talk to your neighbors about what they did when they built, too.

 

[awharris]

I should have specified earlier...I live just outside of Jackson (I'm in medical school at UMC), near the Ross Barnett resevoir. Thanks for your help.

 

[VAD]

Sumptoms eems to be a settlement related crack. very often these can be a one time occurrence. I would monitor the crack for a whilei.e determine if it is getting wider with time as this would be useful information if ther is a potential long term problem and would support your case as well. make a log of crack width versus time.

However, since you purchased the home only a year ago, you should advise the builder. Also it might be worthwhile to determine if other nearby houses have the same defect.

 

[pmkPE]

Check out

http://www.hadd.com/index.html

for information regarding common complaints from homeowners. HADD = homeowners against deficient dwellings.

 

[Focht3]

I have my own opinions, but would like to hear what Glen has to say first.

On the legal front, hire a lawyer soon. You will need the help -



Please see FAQ731-376 for great suggestions on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora. See faq158-922 for recommendations regarding the question, "How Do You Evaluate Fill Settlement Beneath Structures?"

 

[gandersen]

awharris:

I am very familiar with your general location. I would be surprised if it is settlement, however, I would not rule it out. The cracking is most likely associated with expansive Yazoo clays and either not having enough nonexpansive buffer soils or with having poor drainage around your home, or with having removed a large tree or trees immediately prior to construction.

Do you know if there was a subsurface investigation performed for your home lot or for the subdivision? Who was the builder? Do you have an idea of what type of foundation your home has? If there was a subsurface investigation, who was the geotechnical consultant?

There are various approaches to the Yazoo clay problem based on local practice.

In general, a minimal thickness of nonexpasive silty clay buffer material is necessary between the Yazoo clay and the foundation. A good rule of thumb is 7 ft. There are moderately expansive clays that sometimes are found on top of the Yazoo clay that can perform adequately with a 5 ft buffer of nonexpansive silty clay.

I can give more information if you can provide answers to the questions above.

Glen

 

[smwpe]

My advice is to first talk to your builder and realtor and document your conversation. Many times these problems can be worked out this way if your builder and realtor are in business to stay. If you get the slow leak from either of them,then beware, and contact an attorney who is experienced in this area.

 

[cvg]

there have been several posts related to legal action and also how to properly construct the foundation, but what are the potential remediation methods for the existing structure? Proper drainage, underpinning, total reconstruction, etc.?

 

[Focht3]

Okay, I'll weigh in now.

I concur with Glen's assessment: you need about 7 feet of 'inert' low plasticity soils beneath your home's foundation in order to obtain acceptable performance. Another alternative would be a structurally suspended floor, but this is often more expensive.

Hire a lawyer PDQ - one who is experienced in construction claims. You need to find one soon to protect your legal rights. And having a lawyer on board can, on occasion, make a builder take you more seriously.

Let us know what happens -



Please see FAQ731-376 for great suggestions on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora. See faq158-922 for recommendations regarding the question, "How Do You Evaluate Fill Settlement Beneath Structures?"

 

[VAD]

I tend to agree with the approach outlined by swmpe. One does not get lawyers involved unless it is utmost necessary. The weakest link with any of these problems is the geotechnical as it is easy to pick holes in that area versus the structural or construction ends.

I am reminded about a site visit I made a number of years ago where an owner was meticulously measuring the elevation of a sidewalk slab to demonstrate that the level at a location was out by 1/8 of an inch or less. He wanted me to support him in small claims court on this issue. I advised him that this was ridiculous and won't subscribe to the concept. Of course he did not have many kind words for me.
I found out later that the real reason that he wanted to take the builder to court was because he felt he was charged too much for the job.

If issues can be resolved without going to lawyers then this should be done first. Geotechs should be the ones that should support this idea more than any.

 

[cvg]

the original post asked for potential methods to fix the problem. This hasn't been addressed yet in the responses. Short of jacking the house up, removing 7 feet of material and replacing with non expansive material, what are the recommended methods to fix the problem. (Suing the builder still doesn't fix the problem...)

 

[pmkPE]

CVG: Before you can fix the problem you have to define what the problem is and its cause. And in order to fix the problem you need to have an understanding of who is responsible for it - as they are the ones that should pay for the remediation (within the legal time limits associated with the jurisdiction the structure is located). That is why the above posts are indicating who should be called in - geotechnical/structural engineers and/or attorneys.

 

[gandersen]

cvg:

Depending upon the actual configuration of the foundation and whether or not the builder followed good practice for the Jackson area, there are some things that might be done at a reasonable price. If the home is sitting directly on Yazoo clay or the expansive transitional clays previously described, there is very little that can be done to stop the movements. On the other hand, if there is some nonexpansive buffer material and the cause of the problem can be traced to a leaking water line or poor drainage around the house, then the source of the water can be cut off and the movements would likely slow down over time.

For this reason, we have asked the home owner for more information so that we can give him suggestions on what may be his best course of action.

If the home was built directly on expansive clay, the only course of action is probably a legal course with the intent of getting the builder to buy back the home.

Glen

 

[cvg]

Ganderson

Thankyou, I appreciate the response.

 

[Focht3]

Glen has it right.

I don't like telling people to call attorneys, but the cold reality is that they need to protect their legal rights. There are a lot of unscrupulous homebuilders, and a few unscrupulous engineers. The homeowners need to protect their own interests -

We no longer operate in an environment where we can discipline our own...



Please see FAQ731-376 for great suggestions on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora. See faq158-922 for recommendations regarding the question, "How Do You Evaluate Fill Settlement Beneath Structures?"

 

[stewbaby]

AWHARRIS, I live in the Clinton area and have a similiar problem...can you update us on what happened, what was resolved? Did you mud jack, Chase anchor, Olshan, sell, what???

 

[dirtguy4]

I really feel for new home owners with foundation problems like these. It really is frustrating as hell, insurance companies seem to be there to protect the contractor instead of the providing the insurance that the new home owner needs.

I see that AWHarris (original thread) is attending university, so it is probably safe to assume the following:

- there is no money for lawers, geotechs and fancy solutions. As a new home owner he/she probably is maxed out with the new mortgage. I think AWHarris just wants some general things that he/she can do to stop or slow down the problem.

There are many possible problems in this situation, we really do need to know what kind of existing foundation this home has to fully assess the problem in better detail.

If we are dealing with a spread footing/basement type foundation we could be dealing with the following:

1. The contractor may have over excavated the footing base and backfilled the over excavation with loose/uncompacted material. This would lead to consolidation or settling of the footing. Pardon by French, but this would really suck because the fix is expensive and very involved (jacking and shimming, underpinning, etc.). There really is no cheap fix here and as others have stated you will need a lawyer and probably your own geotechnical engineer to prove that this is in fact what is happening.

2. We could be dealing with (as Glen pointed out) an expansive clay soil. Expansive clays swell when wet and shrink when dry. In essence, they experience volume changes with changes in their moisture content. Footings that are placed on expansive clays can be problematic. The contractor may have excavated the footing bases, let the clay dry out, placed the footing and backfilled (this would result in future swelling/expansion). Or during footing excavation it may have rained. So rather than excavate the softened clay to a uniform solid, native soil, the footing may have just been placed avoiding the extra work required to do things properly (this would result in shrinkage/consolidation/settlement). Again, another "fox pass" by the contractor.

There are a few things you can do that may help your situation (again we need some more details)

1. Ensure there is good positive drainage away from your house (no low spots or ponded water).
2. Ensure your sump pump and weeping tile are functioning correctly.
3. Ensure your eaves discharge away from your house and that they also drain freely away from your house.
4. Ensure there are no leaking water pipes, sewer line etc. in your home or in the neighboring properties.


When I hear things like "this area is loaded with foundation problems", it is a red flag to me that the local building inspector not getting his job done properly or proper geotechnical foundation inspections are not being performed or not being performed properly.

Everyone is quick to blame the geotechnical engineer, but many times things just don't get built the way the geotechnical engineer designs or recommends and many times there is no geotech involved. Contractors are famous for cutting corners to save money and owners are just as guilty. Both fail to see the benefits of following the proper procedures and recommedations until there is a problem.

I see this problem as a challenge to all of us geotechnical engineers. It tells me that there are areas/locations out there that need our talents, we've been doing a poor job at selling our valuable services!

Lets ask AWHarris what he would rather do....spend $4,000.00 on a proper geotech investigation up front or $50,000.00 on lawyer fees and $5,000.00 on geotech after the fact.