You probably have the common problem of most houses with cracks in the foundations / slabs. The most common cause is crap cheap concrete mix when it was built. That and improper prep, poor installations with out reinforcement wire / rebar or additives. Once a cheap crap mix is poured from the truck it is all over but the shouting, not much will fix it.
For the nineteen zillion time, not all concrete cracks, if it does, something is wrong.
The sad fact also is the builders save squat in terms of money between very good concrete mixes and the cheap crap stuff. In total a very good well done job with the right mixes, right reinforcement, right additives and right installation, they might save like $10 - 15 a yard doing it poorly.
That factor and poor prep of the slab, footing surfaces by proper compaction is the prime causes of any concrete failures in house construction. There can be others, like poor handling practices, mix too long in the truck, cold weather, all can be caught by the right inspections / observations during the construction process. It might even pay today to have such inspections done if having a house built. You want total solid proof of the mix ordered and delivered to the job and the time in route. Concrete in the truck over 30 minutes should have been rejected. You can get many additives that enhance concrete strength and they are nominal in cost. The pour must occur within acceptable temperature ranges or be conditioned for the environment as it sets up and cures.
If there is any cracking in home construction it should be along the control joints placed for that purpose. Cracking in other areas
IS NOT normal and should not be accepted.
I would not buy your house with a crap mix. Once out of the truck and poured there is lil that can be done to fix it. Only real fix is a jackhammer, same for all concrete booboo's.
If you don't know concrete is just cement, sand and gravel and there are many formulas to get various mixes. Most of the crap stuff has too lil cement in the mix. The difference in price per yard between good stuff and bad stuff is squat in terms of the overall job costs. You wonder why they keep trying to save money in the concrete. When the problems occur, if you can hold them accountable, solutions are very big bucks. Minimum for a good house mix might be 3000#, hey pay for it. Do not waste money on bad mixes.
The chimney pulling away from the house is probably poor inadequate footing design for the chimney. Chimney area requires a deeper, broader footing area that the rest of the foundation. If the footing design is not proper and not poured correctly it may settle or sink on one side, causing the chimney to start to lean to that side. Is it leaning outward at an angle that can be seen between the house wall and the chimney. About the only way it can happen unless one of them is sliding away from the other.
The joys of crap construction.
Welcome to City-Data.com forum! Make sure to register - it's free and very quick! You have to register before you can post and participate in our discussions with 700,000 other registered members. User profiles and some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your free account you will be able to customize many options, you will have the full access to over 15,000 posts/day about local topics and you will see fewer ads. 
is this a common thing in older homes?
Linear Mode
