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Old 07-27-2013, 10:51 AM
 
5 posts, read 11,633 times
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The house was built in 1995. There is a really big tree about 20 feet from the house. There are a lot of roots on the ground near the house. On the same side, we saw some hairline cracks and one big crack. The big one goes through 4-5 bricks. We like the house a lot. We don't know how big it is the problem. Will the roots go in the foundation and damage it? Where can we find professional engineers to look at it?
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Old 07-27-2013, 01:42 PM
 
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Don't buy it.
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Old 07-27-2013, 01:55 PM
 
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Originally Posted by crystalzxh View Post
The house was built in 1995. There is a really big tree about 20 feet from the house. There are a lot of roots on the ground near the house. On the same side, we saw some hairline cracks and one big crack. The big one goes through 4-5 bricks. We like the house a lot. We don't know how big it is the problem. Will the roots go in the foundation and damage it? Where can we find professional engineers to look at it?
Pay a foundation guy $200 for an opinion. Likely the roots did cause the cracks. However, cracks in mortar and inside the home in sheetrock and moulding tend to be fairly easy to remediate.


If you were so so about the house I'd walk. As you like the house a few bucks for an opinion and an estimate to correct the issue may be in order.

FWIIW, we bought our current home in North Dallas with similar issues. $1,100 to fix with more than that coming from a discount from the seller and no issues since.


ETA - you need to pressure test the water at the cold and hot water taps behind the clothes washer and get an opinion from a plumber about the sewer line. A 1995 home should have a PVC sewer line which is better than metal which is better than tile/orangeburg (no way 1995 house has tale and oragneburg FWIIW).
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Old 07-27-2013, 02:16 PM
 
7,216 posts, read 2,824,239 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crystalzxh View Post
The house was built in 1995. There is a really big tree about 20 feet from the house. There are a lot of roots on the ground near the house. On the same side, we saw some hairline cracks and one big crack. The big one goes through 4-5 bricks. We like the house a lot. We don't know how big it is the problem. Will the roots go in the foundation and damage it? Where can we find professional engineers to look at it?
The roots are taking in too much water from under the foundation, and when the soil is too dry the house will settle, hence cracks. We are having similar issue, and it is getting worse this year because of the water restrictions. We are putting in a root barrier along that side of the house, hopefully it helps. Should have done it last year..
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Old 07-27-2013, 02:51 PM
 
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Originally Posted by serger View Post
The roots are taking in too much water from under the foundation, and when the soil is too dry the house will settle, hence cracks. We are having similar issue, and it is getting worse this year because of the water restrictions. We are putting in a root barrier along that side of the house, hopefully it helps. Should have done it last year..
Have you tried soaker hoses? So far as I know no city around here limits their use.
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Old 07-27-2013, 03:16 PM
 
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Masonry cracks are common and that alone isn't enough to bail out on the deal. The big thing is the foundation.... if you see evidence of foundation compromises, that's where you need to really take pause. Root abatement can be performed to reduce / minimize the impact. You are wise to take notice. Consult a foundation specialist and/or a structural engineer who has expertise in foundation remediation. It will probably cost a couple-hundred and make sure you check them out for certifications. You could consult a realtor for referrals or check with a house inspection service as they would probably have engineers they consult with and could get you in touch with someone qualified. I once contacted a local municipality and spoke with their bldg inspectors who gave me a lead on a couple folks but that wasn't in Texas so no help there. But you could try and speak to someone with the City Engineer's office.

goog luck
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Old 07-27-2013, 03:30 PM
 
Location: Mostly in my head
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Originally Posted by EDS_ View Post
Have you tried soaker hoses? So far as I know no city around here limits their use.
Little Elm limits us to 2 hrs per week besides the sprinklers. WHile the mandate the day for sprinklers, they don't mandate how long they can run. "Course, only can run so long before it starts running off.
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Old 07-27-2013, 03:39 PM
 
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Little Elm limits us to 2 hrs per week besides the sprinklers. WHile the mandate the day for sprinklers, they don't mandate how long they can run. "Course, only can run so long before it starts running off.
Good info. thx.

The sprinkler rules are similar in Dallas. Two particular days per week not between 10AM and 6PM. So if I wanted I could sprinkle a lot of time but only during portions of two days.
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Old 07-27-2013, 04:23 PM
 
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Originally Posted by EDS_ View Post
Have you tried soaker hoses? So far as I know no city around here limits their use.
I use them all the time but somehow it still not enough. The tree is getting bigger and my neighbor has another huge one on the same side. And some of the roots are on the surface so I can see that they are really close to the problem side of the house. One foundation guy recommended root barrier last year, but it didn't seem that bad, so I didn't do anything. And then this year, everything was more or less ok through beginning of June when the weather was still cool and no watering restrictions. After that just in a matter of few weeks I got bunch of cracking tile inside the house...
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Old 07-27-2013, 04:26 PM
 
7,216 posts, read 2,824,239 times
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Originally Posted by EDS_ View Post
Good info. thx.

The sprinkler rules are similar in Dallas. Two particular days per week not between 10AM and 6PM. So if I wanted I could sprinkle a lot of time but only during portions of two days.
Two days would be fine for me, but once a week is just not enough in some cases.
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