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I'm looking to purchase a house and found some cracks in the foundation. Any thoughts on how serious these are? I heard that horizontal cracks are really serious and need to be fixed immediately. Not sure what to take of these. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!
It doesn't matter how good your pictures are, no internet forum can answer this question for you. Hire a local structural engineer who will come out and take a look. This will cost you a few hundred dollars, but they should be able to provide you with a report of what needs to be done to address the problem.
Would you post a picture of a lump on your neck to an internet forum for diagnosis?
It doesn't matter how good your pictures are, no internet forum can answer this question for you. Hire a local structural engineer who will come out and take a look. This will cost you a few hundred dollars, but they should be able to provide you with a report of what needs to be done to address the problem.
Would you post a picture of a lump on your neck to an internet forum for diagnosis?
b-nasty is right. DO hire an engineer to inspect. Maybe a good home inspector could also do this. Before selling my house in WA, I had an inspector look at the foundation and cracks were found but at least in this case he said it was not something to be concerned about. I wonder if it may have happened when the US Geological Survey came down our street with that huge thumping machine banging on the pavement....
Without seeing the big picture its hard to say, but as a home inspector, if I saw those cracks, I would likely tell my client to get a structural engineer.
They look fairly wide, so that is kind of a red flag. If there is any displacement (one side of the crack juts out further than the other side), then thats another red flag.
But a big picture view of it all is needed to make an accurate assessment.
Get an engineer to look at it.
Is this house in Connecticut? If so then those cracks are probably symptomatic of a very serious defect in the foundation. Several thousand houses built between 1980 and 2000 have defective foundations in Connecticut.
Considering you are a buyer: hire a structural engineer or walk away if you can't afford to do that. Those cracks look large enough to justify it. Also keep in mind if they are serious, you are talking a fair amount of money.
Thank you everyone for your responses and time! I hired a structural engineer and was told these cracks were not serious but needs to be monitored every few years. However, I decided not to pursue this place since I am a first time buyer. Many thanks for all your help!
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