not great, but not the worst thing in the world, either. it makes sense that if it's below the window it would carry through above, so that's not necessarily an additional concern.
in this part of the country, it's not too unusual, especially if your house is old. engineering the excavation/fill wasn't necessarily a thing when older houses were built and some are on .... not much. what usually happened, though, is the houses settled early, these cracks happened, and then the movement stops.
questions:
is the above-grade part concrete on the outside, too, or brick?
how old is your house?
watch it during heavy rains and see if you get water.
watch for signs of continuing movement here, but also upstairs.
probably most importantly: has this just happened recently or was it there already?
Firstly let me say that I'm in no way shape or form an Engineer. So aside from shutting up I'll over things based on my own experience.
Your crack seems to be coming from above the window, but it seems unclear if you have a reinforced concrete lintel or a ring beam above it.
Often cracks in structural elements can be fixed by injecting specialised epoxy that creates a secure bond and closes the exposed area. There are conditions to this of course, but it can get the job done and is fairly simple to do.
But I would make a call to an experience engineer and discuss your dilemma with them, prior to calling one out to visit. Especially since the latter may have implications with homeowners insurance, resale, etc.
in my uninformed non-structural engineer opinion, the larger crack underneath the window is structurally not that big a deal because it is under the window and thus not really bearing much load. if need be you could span steel over the top of the window to redistribute the load along the top of the foundation, epoxy fill the crack and add a waterproofing layer to the entire wall. on the other hand, i would be more concerned about the smaller cracks on the sides of the window which does tell me there is a bearing issue and that additional concrete work might be necessary.
The easy way to check to see if it is still moving by adhering a glass microscope slide across the crack with construction adhesive. If the slide breaks - well, you know.
looks to me like the lintel is fine: that's why the crack from below traveled so far over to the side. this is a settlement crack, i'm pretty sure, so it's coming from the bearing condition below. somethin's moved.
'28 is consistent with what i said above. for this part of the midwest, melt, that's likely to mean contractor brought dirt in on a horse cart, even though cars were around in the city.
the advice to enlist an engineer is a good one, and the remedy might be along the lines of what techno said, but the main thing you need to try to suss out is how long this has been there. YOU may just have noticed, but did your realtor, your inspector, anyone else notice? go back and check your house inspection. if it was there already, it's probably of less concern than if it happened this month.
i doubt there is a lintel at all. the window is at the top of the wall. the floor joists comprise the support for the opening.
it may be settlement, but i also think there's a pretty good chance that the stress is coming from above. My feeling is that the opening for the window compromised the integrity of the foundation wall carrying the floor joists in that location and that's why you have cracks.
SW - It's always been there but for whatever reason I looked at it closely today and actually touched it. When I touched it a piece fell off and that's when I freaked. It feels like there is a bulge too.
I guess I'll ask around the office if anyone knows (i.e. trusts) any structural engineers to take a look at it. Keep your fingers crossed, as I have NO money tree growing in the backyard.
definitely hard to say anything for certain. if not stress from above, it could also be water penetration as i'm assuming the window is quite low to the ground. you may have to go outside and see what if anything is happening on the other side.
definitely would be a good idea to have an engineer look at it.
worst case scenario you will have to add a steel lintel to distribute the load, then fill the cracks and waterproof. probably a few thousand dollars. and that's worst case. if the crack is not compromising the structure, you can simply fill the crack and waterproof for a few hundred.
the corner of the foundation is sinking . notice the 'dip' in the asphalt, that can pool water and more than likely it's leaking down to your foundation. might be causing the earth to loosen up and your wall/slab is settling.
not sure why the crack near the upper part of the window is there... maybe there's too much load
after seeing those picks, i tend to agree with steven, techno, and robot a.k.a cryz - it probably is settlement. the fact that your house is 80 years old makes the situation a little better as it seems unlikely it will settle much more. likely the construction next door caused or exacerbated an existing problem.
give your friendly local structural engineer a call. it should be addressed, and who knows? it may not be as bad as you fear.
Agh melt, that's nothin. My house is only 27, and it has more cracks than Whitney Houston. Mines foundational due to expansive clay/blackland dirt. Luckily, I only have one level to worry about. You could probably just call a foundation company; they would quote you to place concrete piers under your house. Good luck with all that. We are keeping our cracks, think of them as stretch marks. They add character.
that's a funky cantilever. Looks like the joists are just about the window (assuming the floor is timber). However and what we are overlooking is that the cantilever coupled with the fact that there isn't a lintel could of added abnormal stress during settlement (hence the diagonal cracks).
Anyway melt you aren't fucked... this can all be fixed fairly easily and inexpensively I believe.
The canitlever is actually a bay window. It gives me about 2' extra in my dining room. Interesting no one has seen this, as it's a fairly common trait amongst older houses here.
Oh and one more question... I unchecked the "notify me" box. Why the hell do I keep getting emails? Anhyone? Anyone?
My optimistic and probably totally off-base question:
Is that the surface of the concrete wall itself, or is there a parge coat over it? My hope is that the parge is cracking and coming off, which wouldn't be structural.
ahhh and if there isn't a parge (which I assume is a nice word for cement sand render) your engineer might prescribe some pneumatically applied hydraulic render about 3.5" thick which in the end does exactly what the epoxy does
Your picture with the measuring tape doesn't look like a parge coat, but the other pics do.
in Philly, we always used parge to mean an aesthetic coating done to just neaten up an old concrete or masonry foundation, and skim coat to mean a finish on a new concrete wall.
in los angeles, we have cracks everywhere!
in fact, most of the hi-rises in downtown have structural steel weld cracks that were exposed to agencies and because of the huge amounts of money involved fixing each building, they were gradually put in the back burner. most of them still are not fixed.
anyway,
from the first picture i see ghost lines, horizontal and straight, which makes me think the walls were built from cmu.
if that is the case, it must be thick coat of plaster they may have applied to smooth the surface.
if it is cmu and the cracks were real structural cracks, most likely they would split at the mortar joints and read it as 90 degree stepping separations.
why don't you find out how deep are the cracks?
try to drive a long nail at the big crack and see how far it goes without hitting a solid surface.
my two cents.
true about the CMU......but even then the idea of having a corner 'drop' would create a crack in the plaster. maybe the plaster isnt fully adhering to the cmu but still has the moment factor involved. notice how the crack is smaller in width at the bottom and wider at the top. this gives evidence that the far left corner is dropping probably as much as 1/2".....might have to use some geometry to figure the a2+b2=c2 for a full drop. (dont quote me on my geometry..its been years)
this is me speaking from common sense rather than as architect. it looks like crizzler is right, that the corner is sinking and pulling the wall with it, which is leaving the cracks.
i am curious whether the crack was noted when you bought the place. isn't there a due diligence rule in USA regarding such things? in order to get loan for home don't banks require it even? if so, it may be that the previous owner has already looked into the problem. just a thought.
This cracking problem is the direct result of too many goddamned loud and raucous dance parties that your neighbors do not really appreciate because they go on and on and on into the wee hours of the morning and Cincinatti is not really the kind of place that views this kind of behaviour favorably because we like a little peace and quiet every now and then.
I wouldn't panic, melt. I've worked construction and helped on waaay worse. This looks pretty contained in one spot. It's no DIY job, nu you may be surprised how reasonable repair estimates are..
I get a kick out of the content of the speculative posts before the second batch of photos arrived, versus after...
Anyway, crizzlers on it, IMO... both posts.
The width of the crack at the top versus it's "vertex" at the bottom is a good clue.
Additionally, I'm interested in what is going on on the other side of the little wing wall by the garage.
I'd bet a donut that water is collecting in that corner and creating an unstable spot.
i will be taking donations for further 'inspections' via paypal...jk
hehehe
might also want to check to see where your downspots are dropping water at, with running water you might be getting erosion issues too.
with the crack being in the middle of the window, this is the area with the least amount of vertical distance/surface from floor the ceiling. i'm surprised it didnt start at the lower left inside corner of the window.
I would look into correcting any soils problem that was noted by others above - simply repairing the concrete will do you no good if the earth is moving below. In the meantime, I would avoid parking near that area.
To answer some questions:
Toasteroven - there was a narrative and I read over it this weekend... all it said (this is from memory) is that minor foundation cracks exist.
Crizzler - Funny you should mention downspout. I think there is a hole in it b/c water does falls on that exact spot where the "dip" is. Looks like I'll be getting that fixed ASAP.
KURT - you owe ME a donut. No water collects on the other side. 1)It slopes down into the garage (technically it's a walkout garage) 2) There is a drain at the bottom of the slope.
I showed one of my principles the photos and he said he thinks there is nothing to worry about, but he does know of a retired structural engineer to take a look at it, so I'll be getting his info for my own peace of mind. He suggested, sort of along the same lines as Beta to draw a straight line across the crack to see if it's moving up and down. Just from the photos it doesn't appear so.
Glad to hear it's probably nothing too major... I know that poor soil conditions are a big problem on Cincinnati's hillsides. Most of the city's hills are merely big piles of unstable debris left by the most recent glaciers... Next time you drive north on I-71 from downtown, look over to your right and check out the massive retaining wall that prevents Mount Adams from collapsing onto the I-471 freeway interchange. (A portion of the hillside actually did collapse during the freeway construction, and it took about four houses with it.)
Over in Fort Thomas, our next-door neighbors had constant problems with soil erosion, and one day after a major thunderstorm they woke up to find that half their back yard had slid down into the ravine behind the house. Since then they've had to put a lot of work into stabilizing the hillside and the house's foundation.
This probably isn't making you feel better... I'll stop now.
KURT - you owe ME a donut. No water collects on the other side. 1)It slopes down into the garage (technically it's a walkout garage) 2) There is a drain at the bottom of the slope.
I''l buy ya one! I STILL suspect an issue at that spot, caused by water collection, ESPECIALLY since you're telling me it slope toward it... got a photo of that side?
melt I see you have a couple of bamboo poles laying on the self adjacent to your window. I would stand them upright at the jamb of the window cause they can then act as columns just incase you have
any additonal issues with settlement. It might also provide interesting conversation for when the good looking structural engineer drops by or....Vado for a field visit.
Where does the drain drain TO, crizzler? I'm looking at the big crack and sinkhole in the asphalt -- looks like a water problem bigger than a downspout / leader issue.
Seriously Gin, I've lived in Cincy much longer than you have. I am aware of the soil conditions, the make up of the hills, the reason why there are hills in this region. You'd have to be blind not to notice that retaining wall. Please stop insulting my intelligence. it's slightly annoying.
Foundation Crack
It's located in my garage which sits under my dining room. How f***ed am I?
It starts at the window and meanders down to the floor
The crack at it's widest?
Oh yah, there's also one to the side of the window.
YAY ME!!!! :o/
not great, but not the worst thing in the world, either. it makes sense that if it's below the window it would carry through above, so that's not necessarily an additional concern.
in this part of the country, it's not too unusual, especially if your house is old. engineering the excavation/fill wasn't necessarily a thing when older houses were built and some are on .... not much. what usually happened, though, is the houses settled early, these cracks happened, and then the movement stops.
questions:
is the above-grade part concrete on the outside, too, or brick?
how old is your house?
watch it during heavy rains and see if you get water.
watch for signs of continuing movement here, but also upstairs.
probably most importantly: has this just happened recently or was it there already?
Firstly let me say that I'm in no way shape or form an Engineer. So aside from shutting up I'll over things based on my own experience.
Your crack seems to be coming from above the window, but it seems unclear if you have a reinforced concrete lintel or a ring beam above it.
Often cracks in structural elements can be fixed by injecting specialised epoxy that creates a secure bond and closes the exposed area. There are conditions to this of course, but it can get the job done and is fairly simple to do.
But I would make a call to an experience engineer and discuss your dilemma with them, prior to calling one out to visit. Especially since the latter may have implications with homeowners insurance, resale, etc.
in my uninformed non-structural engineer opinion, the larger crack underneath the window is structurally not that big a deal because it is under the window and thus not really bearing much load. if need be you could span steel over the top of the window to redistribute the load along the top of the foundation, epoxy fill the crack and add a waterproofing layer to the entire wall. on the other hand, i would be more concerned about the smaller cracks on the sides of the window which does tell me there is a bearing issue and that additional concrete work might be necessary.
The house was built in 1928. Perhaps that will help with the lintel question.
The easy way to check to see if it is still moving by adhering a glass microscope slide across the crack with construction adhesive. If the slide breaks - well, you know.
looks to me like the lintel is fine: that's why the crack from below traveled so far over to the side. this is a settlement crack, i'm pretty sure, so it's coming from the bearing condition below. somethin's moved.
'28 is consistent with what i said above. for this part of the midwest, melt, that's likely to mean contractor brought dirt in on a horse cart, even though cars were around in the city.
the advice to enlist an engineer is a good one, and the remedy might be along the lines of what techno said, but the main thing you need to try to suss out is how long this has been there. YOU may just have noticed, but did your realtor, your inspector, anyone else notice? go back and check your house inspection. if it was there already, it's probably of less concern than if it happened this month.
- that sounds like your first step melt
i doubt there is a lintel at all. the window is at the top of the wall. the floor joists comprise the support for the opening.
it may be settlement, but i also think there's a pretty good chance that the stress is coming from above. My feeling is that the opening for the window compromised the integrity of the foundation wall carrying the floor joists in that location and that's why you have cracks.
SW - It's always been there but for whatever reason I looked at it closely today and actually touched it. When I touched it a piece fell off and that's when I freaked. It feels like there is a bulge too.
I guess I'll ask around the office if anyone knows (i.e. trusts) any structural engineers to take a look at it. Keep your fingers crossed, as I have NO money tree growing in the backyard.
yep, i guess it's time for a professional since we're all coming from different places.
i'm assuming the floor framing is doing double-duty and serving as a lintel condition.
i'm not seeing how stress from the top of the opening is going to result in multiple cracks 12"+ below the opening, but maybe.
definitely hard to say anything for certain. if not stress from above, it could also be water penetration as i'm assuming the window is quite low to the ground. you may have to go outside and see what if anything is happening on the other side.
definitely would be a good idea to have an engineer look at it.
worst case scenario you will have to add a steel lintel to distribute the load, then fill the cracks and waterproof. probably a few thousand dollars. and that's worst case. if the crack is not compromising the structure, you can simply fill the crack and waterproof for a few hundred.
Are you on a steep hillside, and/or has there been any major construction work nearby? Might explain the origins of the cracks.
The other side. (Yes I know the house needs to be painted.)
Yes and yes. They built a condo complex about 6 years ago.
the corner of the foundation is sinking . notice the 'dip' in the asphalt, that can pool water and more than likely it's leaking down to your foundation. might be causing the earth to loosen up and your wall/slab is settling.
not sure why the crack near the upper part of the window is there... maybe there's too much load
So in other words I'm fucked.
Why didn't the home inspector notice this when I got the house inspected? That "dip" has always been there too.
that's a funky little cantilever.
after seeing those picks, i tend to agree with steven, techno, and robot a.k.a cryz - it probably is settlement. the fact that your house is 80 years old makes the situation a little better as it seems unlikely it will settle much more. likely the construction next door caused or exacerbated an existing problem.
give your friendly local structural engineer a call. it should be addressed, and who knows? it may not be as bad as you fear.
you can also see a crack in the asphalt that runs with the crack in your wall....
maybe the trolls are tunneling under your pad
Agh melt, that's nothin. My house is only 27, and it has more cracks than Whitney Houston. Mines foundational due to expansive clay/blackland dirt. Luckily, I only have one level to worry about. You could probably just call a foundation company; they would quote you to place concrete piers under your house. Good luck with all that. We are keeping our cracks, think of them as stretch marks. They add character.
that's a funky cantilever. Looks like the joists are just about the window (assuming the floor is timber). However and what we are overlooking is that the cantilever coupled with the fact that there isn't a lintel could of added abnormal stress during settlement (hence the diagonal cracks).
Anyway melt you aren't fucked... this can all be fixed fairly easily and inexpensively I believe.
1 word, 3 syllables: epoxy.
The canitlever is actually a bay window. It gives me about 2' extra in my dining room. Interesting no one has seen this, as it's a fairly common trait amongst older houses here.
Oh and one more question... I unchecked the "notify me" box. Why the hell do I keep getting emails? Anhyone? Anyone?
My optimistic and probably totally off-base question:
Is that the surface of the concrete wall itself, or is there a parge coat over it? My hope is that the parge is cracking and coming off, which wouldn't be structural.
Uhhhhhh, what's a parge coat? And how can you tell if it IS a parge coat?
ahhh and if there isn't a parge (which I assume is a nice word for cement sand render) your engineer might prescribe some pneumatically applied hydraulic render about 3.5" thick which in the end does exactly what the epoxy does
i was gonna ask if the wall is furred and plastered.....
No it's not furred and plastered. What's a parge coat? Or Cement sand render? No speaka me Architecteeze.
... I actually wasn't familiar with the term myself until I looked it up just now. I've always used "skim coat" in that context.
Your picture with the measuring tape doesn't look like a parge coat, but the other pics do.
in Philly, we always used parge to mean an aesthetic coating done to just neaten up an old concrete or masonry foundation, and skim coat to mean a finish on a new concrete wall.
in los angeles, we have cracks everywhere!
in fact, most of the hi-rises in downtown have structural steel weld cracks that were exposed to agencies and because of the huge amounts of money involved fixing each building, they were gradually put in the back burner. most of them still are not fixed.
anyway,
from the first picture i see ghost lines, horizontal and straight, which makes me think the walls were built from cmu.
if that is the case, it must be thick coat of plaster they may have applied to smooth the surface.
if it is cmu and the cracks were real structural cracks, most likely they would split at the mortar joints and read it as 90 degree stepping separations.
why don't you find out how deep are the cracks?
try to drive a long nail at the big crack and see how far it goes without hitting a solid surface.
my two cents.
true about the CMU......but even then the idea of having a corner 'drop' would create a crack in the plaster. maybe the plaster isnt fully adhering to the cmu but still has the moment factor involved. notice how the crack is smaller in width at the bottom and wider at the top. this gives evidence that the far left corner is dropping probably as much as 1/2".....might have to use some geometry to figure the a2+b2=c2 for a full drop. (dont quote me on my geometry..its been years)
this is me speaking from common sense rather than as architect. it looks like crizzler is right, that the corner is sinking and pulling the wall with it, which is leaving the cracks.
i am curious whether the crack was noted when you bought the place. isn't there a due diligence rule in USA regarding such things? in order to get loan for home don't banks require it even? if so, it may be that the previous owner has already looked into the problem. just a thought.
This cracking problem is the direct result of too many goddamned loud and raucous dance parties that your neighbors do not really appreciate because they go on and on and on into the wee hours of the morning and Cincinatti is not really the kind of place that views this kind of behaviour favorably because we like a little peace and quiet every now and then.
vado, hitting the wine early this morning? Maybe started your day with a strong bloody mary?
did you get a narrative report with the inspection or just a checklist?
I wouldn't panic, melt. I've worked construction and helped on waaay worse. This looks pretty contained in one spot. It's no DIY job, nu you may be surprised how reasonable repair estimates are..
I get a kick out of the content of the speculative posts before the second batch of photos arrived, versus after...
Anyway, crizzlers on it, IMO... both posts.
The width of the crack at the top versus it's "vertex" at the bottom is a good clue.
Additionally, I'm interested in what is going on on the other side of the little wing wall by the garage.
I'd bet a donut that water is collecting in that corner and creating an unstable spot.
anything 1/8" or smaller and vertical is considered "hairline crack" and not a "serious default."
i will be taking donations for further 'inspections' via paypal...jk
hehehe
might also want to check to see where your downspots are dropping water at, with running water you might be getting erosion issues too.
with the crack being in the middle of the window, this is the area with the least amount of vertical distance/surface from floor the ceiling. i'm surprised it didnt start at the lower left inside corner of the window.
Also, I'd take charge and say 'Sarge, ya gota give me minute, here" to purge a portion of parge not as large as as a barge but enough to large
er, never mind... too much coffee...
I would look into correcting any soils problem that was noted by others above - simply repairing the concrete will do you no good if the earth is moving below. In the meantime, I would avoid parking near that area.
Thanks everyone for all your advise.
To answer some questions:
Toasteroven - there was a narrative and I read over it this weekend... all it said (this is from memory) is that minor foundation cracks exist.
Crizzler - Funny you should mention downspout. I think there is a hole in it b/c water does falls on that exact spot where the "dip" is. Looks like I'll be getting that fixed ASAP.
KURT - you owe ME a donut. No water collects on the other side. 1)It slopes down into the garage (technically it's a walkout garage) 2) There is a drain at the bottom of the slope.
I showed one of my principles the photos and he said he thinks there is nothing to worry about, but he does know of a retired structural engineer to take a look at it, so I'll be getting his info for my own peace of mind. He suggested, sort of along the same lines as Beta to draw a straight line across the crack to see if it's moving up and down. Just from the photos it doesn't appear so.
Glad to hear it's probably nothing too major... I know that poor soil conditions are a big problem on Cincinnati's hillsides. Most of the city's hills are merely big piles of unstable debris left by the most recent glaciers... Next time you drive north on I-71 from downtown, look over to your right and check out the massive retaining wall that prevents Mount Adams from collapsing onto the I-471 freeway interchange. (A portion of the hillside actually did collapse during the freeway construction, and it took about four houses with it.)
Over in Fort Thomas, our next-door neighbors had constant problems with soil erosion, and one day after a major thunderstorm they woke up to find that half their back yard had slid down into the ravine behind the house. Since then they've had to put a lot of work into stabilizing the hillside and the house's foundation.
This probably isn't making you feel better... I'll stop now.
KURT - you owe ME a donut. No water collects on the other side. 1)It slopes down into the garage (technically it's a walkout garage) 2) There is a drain at the bottom of the slope.
I''l buy ya one! I STILL suspect an issue at that spot, caused by water collection, ESPECIALLY since you're telling me it slope toward it... got a photo of that side?
melt I see you have a couple of bamboo poles laying on the self adjacent to your window. I would stand them upright at the jamb of the window cause they can then act as columns just incase you have
any additonal issues with settlement. It might also provide interesting conversation for when the good looking structural engineer drops by or....Vado for a field visit.
snook that would be hilarious... a spoof stageset for the engineer -- ...maybe a hundred or so 8" pieces of duct tape across the crack.
Where does the drain drain TO, crizzler? I'm looking at the big crack and sinkhole in the asphalt -- looks like a water problem bigger than a downspout / leader issue.
Seriously Gin, I've lived in Cincy much longer than you have. I am aware of the soil conditions, the make up of the hills, the reason why there are hills in this region. You'd have to be blind not to notice that retaining wall. Please stop insulting my intelligence. it's slightly annoying.
Sorry, i meant MELT , not Crizzler ^
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