Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 5/29/2011

Question
QUESTION: We had a first floor master added one year ago. A crack has developed above the closet door (non-hinge side) on an interior wall. It is angular on one side and absolute vertical on the other.
The door is now sticking on top on the same side. I called my contractor and he said, without seeing it personally, that is was not displacement. He seems to be afraid of the word "displacement."

What does that term mean with respect to responsibilities. This was a "design and build", so is afraid of some liability beyond spackle and paint?

I am a retired mechanical engineer so I look at things different than most. The cracks combined with the door sticking at the same area of the cracks tells me something is moving, or settling. In other words, something I would call vertical displacement.

Questions:

Should I be concerned?
Should I hire a building inspector?
Should I expect a little settling and cracks, or is the "Design and Build" contractor at fault?

Thanks for any advice!

Wayne

ANSWER: Hi Wayne, It would appear that there is some settling or shifting going on.  I really don't have enough information regarding how the room was built to provide further insight.  Was it a concrete slab foundation?  A crawl space floor system? Is the closet free standing or braced against outside walls? It's possible that the closet wall is shifting laterally for some reason.  Were the closet walls attached properly to the ceiling joists? A shift to the right would create the problem you describe or a settling down on the left.  It's also possible that the door jamb wasn't installed properly and the door was binding enough when it was closed to put pressure on the framing either causing it to shift or dislocating the door jamb causing the door to stick.  Since you had a contractor do the complete design/build one would think that he has a responsibility to correct the problem.  I am not an attorney and I don't know what kind of contract or documentation you have with the builder or whether the work was permitted and inspected by the proper building authorities.  Most construction documents for building have a five year structural warranty and a one year warranty on everything else and a separate roof warranty but those are general clauses and may not have been included in your agreement.  A door adjustment and a little spackle may be all you need to get the room back to normal and the problem may not come back again.  I say get the contractor out to look at it and fix it.  If he is unwilling to do so then you may need to seek alternative methods which may or may not require legal action on your part.  I hope this information helps please feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely Bruce Johnson

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

QUESTION: Bruce:

Thanks for your comprehensive answer. Here's some more info.

This was a crawl space construction. The closet is formed by a single interior wall extending the width of the room between the two exterior walls. I am attaching pictures of the wall during construction phase.

Notes on pictures:

- The door in question is the one on the right.
- I had a second door framed on the left end of the closet in case the closet turned out to be too long and narrow.
- I just noticed the frame of the tray ceiling is supported above the left door frame, but not above the right door frame. Don't know if that means anything or not.

Does this give you any more insight regarding the potential problem?

Wayne
[IMG]http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn4/arniep42/Addition/13-2.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn4/arniep42/Addition/13-1.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn4/arniep42/Addition/13-3.jpg[/IMG]

Answer
Hi again Wayne, the photo links you sent are no good anymore for some reason..After hearing that the floor system is crawlspace, I would look more closely the the support underneath the wall.  It's possible that the weight of the wall is sitting over just floor sheathing and not being supported fully.  Not that sitting on floor sheathing is an uncommon practice but if the floor sheathing is too thin or the grain of the wood is not crossing the floor joists then the weight of the wall can cause it to sag and lead to the problems you are having. sincerely bruce johnson