Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 2/8/2009

Question
QUESTION: We are in the process of buying a home & have come across one that is perfect (1 story approx 1450 sq ft) but have noticed a couple of issues.  The home is only 10 yrs old & it has a crack in one wall that runs right down from the top edge of the master bath window (maybe 3/4 inch gap between window and wall, give or take) and it runs down along the mortar and then when it hits the slab there is a small vertical hairline crack that runs down past the dirt.

If you look at the wall inside the bathroom, you can't tell there is an issue, but there is also a crack that runs across the ceiling in the living room (maybe 6-10 feet)

Is this a concern.  This seems to be a lot of settlement for a fairly new house.

Hope you can help.
Tom

ANSWER: Hi Tom, settling is a rather common development in new construction. Any time you take a large weight and put it on top of a plastic substance such as dirt or clay you are going to get some movement.  Whether or not this much movement is common for your area I can't say.  Another factor is what time of year your foundation was poured.  If the ground was wet and swollen at the time of the footing pour and then dried out and shrank this too will cause a certain amount of settling.  And it may be the same things over a period of time.  Swelling of soil during wet months, shrinking of soil during dry spells or times of drought.  You didn not say what is cracking on the outside of the wall.  Is it a stucco crack?  A masonry crack?  An adobe crack? A stucco crack may be caused by structural movement or other things, including improperly installed or lack of stucco expansion joints. The same for masonry cracks.  Most residential block homes do not have expansion joints to keep these kinds of cracks from happening.  I hope this information helps feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the quick reply.  It is a crack in a brick home.  The bathroom window (n the lft side, middle) is separated from the brick and then it continues form the lower right corner, down thru the foundation (by the time it gets to the slab it is only hairline, but at the top it is almost an inch wide.  We also noticed it has what is probably a related crack at the top corner of one of the front windows.  I just don't want it to be a structural issue in the future..

Thanks
Tom

Answer
Hi again Tom, a one inch wide crack?  That is an indication of a major settling or structural problem..from the crack at the foundation vertically  is there more weight on one side of that line than on the other?  Is the brick just a veneer course attached to a wood framed wall?  Or is it masonry block with a brick veneer?  Or is it two or three layers deep of brick?  Let me know..sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com