Help, my house is cracking!

[texkam]

Despite all the irrigation, this summer has not been kind to the humble abode. Looks like I'm going to have to call someone. Anyone out there care to share their wisdom, experiences, recommendations in this area? Thanks.

[kenw]

pics? seriously, we've got the same and have been around and around with several folks over the years.

[bgpro611]

My last house had some cracking that concerned ne so I called all the usual suspects to come out, take a look and give me a estimate. Four companies came, the estimates ranged from $7000.00 up to $34,000.00. Hmmmm, didn't sound right to me to have such a wide range of estimates so I called a engineer who came out and did a real inspection. Well he came back with a report that said my slab was well within specs (.75 inch if I remember right). I admit I have a temper particularly when I think somebody is trying to rip me off so I called all four companies, sent a letter with a copy of the engineers report and demanded reimbursement for what I paid the engineer ($500.00). I threatened to go to Marvin Zindler (still alive at the time) if they ignored me. Three of them sent me a check. To me that says, loud and clear, not to trust any of those con artists. If I had been a old lady odds are I would have had them go to work right away after the grim picture they painted. My advice: hire a engineer, it is money well spent. Seems to me it is the only way to get a true answer. Good luck.

[PHOTO-DA]

Ok let's get the basics down.
What type of soil? Gumbo? Sand? Mix?
One or more story House?
Age of house?
I assume slab foundation.

Really since this is a fifty year+ drought for the DFW area I would wait until we had a couple 2 + inch rains come through to see what will settle back in unless this is creating leaks in the roof/gutter areas. You would be surprised to see how much moisture will migrate after a good couple soakings and how it can shift things right back.

[KJ Smith]

Originally Posted by texkam

Despite all the irrigation, this summer has not been kind to the humble abode. Looks like I'm going to have to call someone. Anyone out there care to share their wisdom, experiences, recommendations in this area? Thanks.

Don't get in a hurry to do anything.

Give it a little time.

It is possible that all will be fine after we get enough rain.


Last I checked it was $330 a pier and $100 a foot if they needed to dig under the house.

That would have been about 12 years ago.

If you do end up having to have some work done, make sure you get a lifetime, transferable warranty from a reputable company.

[Mosephus]

I would also wait a little while, but this company (link below) is one of our past clients that we put together some little commercial videos for. They ended up working on our foundation too, so we used some of that footage for the commercials. They are very reasonable.

Foundation Repair Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) Metroplex| Foundation Repair North Texas Areas| Home Savers Foundation Repair Company| Foundation Repair Contractors in Dallas| Foundation Repair Cost

[Ricco]

I have to join the chorus:

Wait a bit. Unless your home is about to totally collapse on you, you're better off waiting a bit.

[tc95]

Mark, if you have legitimate concerns...take a Quarter if it fits in the crack easily then you might want to call a structural engineer out to look at everything...

I have seen huge cracks in homes...that did not mean anything...and little ones that really were bad...

I am with Dan on this one...An engineer is paid by you to look at the structure, soil, and movement of your house and give you his/her best judgement call, to wether you have an issue or not...most of the good ones that I have dealt take about 3 to 8 hours to come-up with this assessment...and there services are not cheap...they cost around $450 to $850 depending on what they need to do...but it is well worth it...because if you do have an issue, they will tell you exactly where the piers need to be in order to maintain your structure and soundness of your house....anyone claiming to do this in less than 2 hours...I would run from...they usually charge 150 to 300 for there services and they are not worth the paper they are printed on...

A good foundation company will also send someone that has dealt with this over many years...but remember one thing...who does he work for...who pays his bills...I am not saying there are not honest foundation companies...because I know a few...but I also know 5x the number of fly-by-night or one's that will basically take as much of your money as you let them....

[Rson]

My parents live in plano (Deerfield) and the house has shifted about 4-5 inches. This has been years in the making. The soil sucks. They have yet to do anything other than patch the drywall.

[texkam]

Yikes! Thanks for help. Here's some more info. I'm in Plano. Black clay (gumbo, right?), 2 story, built in 1995, slab (it's got the steel bolts that I was told they torque to keep it from cracking apart). Here's the house. I'll post some pics of the cracks when I get a chance.

[Grummpy1]

Originally Posted by Rson

My parents live in plano (Deerfield) and the house has shifted about 4-5 inches. This has been years in the making. The soil sucks. They have yet to do anything other than patch the drywall.

4-5 inches is pretty serious. That much movement can easily crack and rupture water lines, gas lines or drain pipes. My uncle owns a campany in Center Texas that repairs slabs and levels foundations. and he did mine a few years ago. The house we had at the time had one corner that had settled 1.25 inches and this was enough to actually bend the freon lines from the outside AC unit. They didn't break but they had a nice bow in them.
My uncle showed me photos he took of one house that had settled only 2 inches and some of the exterior windows had cracked from the stress they were under. It all depends on how the house is settling and how much wieght that section of the house is supporting. If your noticing the cracks in exterior walls or key support, wieght bareing, walls I would have it looked at before it gets worse. If it is something that will need repair the longer you wait the more difficult and costly it will be.

[John_A]

We had our house done the week before xmas and saved 4k