Columbia -- foundation cracks? (St. Louis, Rea: real estate, houses, construction)

[rw4sure]

My wife and I want to relocate to Columbia. We have looked at houses in the Green Meadows area, where many of the houses are on hilly lots, and the homes are 40-50 years old.

Do we have to worry about cracks in the foundation?

It seems like an existing crack could just be filled with caulking compound and the wall repainted, leaving the problem for the new owner.

Is there something we should specifically state in our offer that will protect us from known problems being hidden in order to make the sale?

thanks in advance, RW

[Arrby]

Originally Posted by rw4sure

We have looked at houses in the Green Meadows area, where many of the houses are on hilly lots, and the homes are 40-50 years old.

Do we have to worry about cracks in the foundation?

Yes.

Foundation cracks are usually a simple shrinkage fracture that does not involve any movement of the foundation - i.e the foundation on either side of the crack has not and is not moving in any direction. These are more a cosmetic problem than anything. But they may be a crack caused by the failure of the footing. The latter is bad. Really bad. It will cost a minimum of a couple of thousand $$ to stabilize, up to many, many thousands.

What causes footings to fail? Soil subsidence, drainage problems, poor compaction during construction, improper sizing of the footing, or even a sink hole (think collapsing cave under the house).

A structural engineer will come out and examine the cracks for you for a fee that that is inconsequential to the over all cost of the real estate purchase. Besides, you might be able to get the seller to pay for it.

[rw4sure]

Thanks.

Based on your good description, it seems it is a house by house basis, not more likely in a given area, i.e. houses built into a hillside vs. on flat ground.

[cooljjay]

It can be on any house. Its a flip of the switch.

I don't want foundation work but on the proety I am looking at just one wall of the foundation is falling over and its at really a 45 degree angle. That job would be over six figures I am sure! One must first dig in and jack the home up before any removal of the foundation could begin. Then you must evacuate and prep the area. Materials have to be bought, soil compressed and then you must stack/pour the wall. Lower the house and then back fill after certain waterproof membranes/drains/etc are applied. Lower the home and be done.

It is more a labor expensive then a materials expense. Don't even let foundation issues threat a good property. Myself if I end up with the property I am looking at, will do all the labor and materials ordering myself with other laborers of course. If you can find the man power and good construction company you can save thousands on a repair. On my property it will be a fun nightmare to solve as it would be more an archeological dig then repair. If your into antique homes it may also be rewarding to you!

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by rw4sure

Thanks.

Based on your good description, it seems it is a house by house basis, not more likely in a given area, i.e. houses built into a hillside vs. on flat ground.

I'm no expert on this stuff, and I can't speak to Columbia specifically, but certain areas of Missouri are known to have what geologists call highly plastic clay soils. These can wreak havoc on a foundation if the site is not prepared correctly because these soils expand and contract with moisture to an extreme extent. I know of a house in eastern rural Missouri not far from St. Louis where one house is having all sorts of foundation problems and one 30 feet away is not. It's because one builder adequately addressed the soil situation during site preparation before the foundation went in and the other builder didn't. This may be rare, but it can literally be house by house. You have to get a soils engineer involved, you have to remove the highly plastic soils, you have to lay adequate rock foundation, etc. You have to get a professional builder who knows what he is doing.