Yep, another foundation thread (Dallas, Plano: hardwood floors, rent, house)

[deftones]

I've been thumbing through all 1,000 foundation threads (don't you love north Texas?) and want to bounce a few items off the local experts.

We bought in the Hunters Glenn area of Plano this summer. The owners mentioned the foundation could be an issue during the option period, and they provided a previous repair estimate. We had one of the more popular structural engineers come by and provide a report. The engineer convinced us the house did not need foundation repair, merely proper care, so we proceeded with caution. My understanding of the report's conclusions were this:

1. overall elevation differential is 2.7 inches of elevation difference over a horizontal distance of about 54 feet. The differential would need to get to ~5.5 inches over the same distance to start to recommend correcting)
2. minimal interior distress (wall cracks, etc.)
3. The garage appears to have some minor settlement at the back, however it was constructed with a slope and there is no point in installing piers on the back of the garage since it was built sloped to drain.
4. Installing piers does not stop cracks or distress from occurring as piers are localized and recommended to correct floor slopes
5. Soil has moderate shrink swell potential

We installed drip around our foundation after realizing soaker hoses were not watering evenly or putting out enough water (only 2 connections around our entire house). Needless to say, our interior and exterior "signs of distress" have slowly but steadily grown ever since we've moved in. Not intentionally to bore you w/ the details, but the 8 inch crack in the brick by the garage upon move-in now stretches from slab to roof, a small hairline crack in the slab (same area) has grown, we're seeing gaps in a good chunk of the crow molding, small cracks in the ceiling, tile is cracking and separating in our laundry room, engineered hardwood floors are separating and boards are coming up in places, the driveway and garage concrete has cracked and grown, the brick flowerbeds have cracked, and the aggregate by the pool has cracked in a few places. I haven't had any doors stick yet, but I'm tired of re-setting the door latch. There are minor repair/cover-up jobs by the previous owners.

I've talked to the engineer again by phone, and the message was that this is normal in North Texas after a dry summer. The suggestion was to wait until Spring and see if things have gotten worse as summer months can cause 3/4" movement. They also suggested repairing cracks/issues as they come up, but nothing was a big concern at this point.

My wife is going to kill me eventually when I tell her to relax after staring at a growing crack. Is this normal in North Texas? Any comfort stories or will we be repairing in the next few years? I would much rather spend foundation repair dollars on new floors, etc. than put in piers which might break my plumbing. I don't mind a little slope anyway, it's just the garage, right?

Any insights are greatly appreciated.

[nsumner]

Do you have pictures of the cracked tiles in the laundry room and the floor boards that are popping?

Has your water bill been unusually high? that could be a sign of a slab leak

Naima

[deftones]

Hi Naima, our water bill has been steady at 8-9,000 gallons; I attached a picture of the tile, a crack in the ceiling, and the outside large crack in the brick. It's not that any one thing is that bad, it's the amount of things, and the fact that I don't find them stopping even though the weather has been cooler and wetter. I know most in the area will experience some of these symptoms over the life of a house, I'm just trying to gauge what's "normal" versus what needs to be fixed before it could potentially become much more expensive down the line.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

You need another structural engineer's report. I don't think that much movement is normal but I am no expert.

[deftones]

Really, another structural engineer's opinion? I'm not totally opposed, but the person we used is very reputable.

[octo]

The crack in the brick facade looks rather severe. Pretty much all foundation issues in Dallas are cosmetic or have a mild functional impact like sticking doors. Your house won't collapse or be condemned.

[WorldKlas]

You could just for your own interest have a local foundation repair company come out and look at it and show the report they give you to the same structural engineer you used.

It looks like you have more than normal movement, but don't get crazy worried. This is Texas afterall. I have used a few different foundation companies in the past and really like Integrity foundation.

[deftones]

I showed the previous owner's previous foundation repair estimate to the structural engineer when they wrote their report. They still didn't recommend correction. I guess because the slope is still within normal movement bounds. I just think the signs of distress are making us worry if we're "contemplating going to the ER with a common cold" so to speak.

[WorldKlas]

One thing you may want to do is simply repair the mortar cracks. They have great motar repair (in tubes, look like caulk but look near concret patch) at the big box stores. If you are able to keep your foundation consistently moist then the movement should be minimal and the repairs you do should look ok. I own a rent house with the same issues. We simply repaired the mortar and we keep an eye out. If the house starts to seriously shift, we will see our repairs re-cracking. I am not opposed to having piers installed if needed. But in the meantime we are monitoring it.