New home foundation issues

[_CY_]

normally after closing ALL problems related to house belongs to YOU.
what's covered by warranty is limited to what is in writing only, not what someone told you to get you to close.

you payed a professional to do a pre-closing inspection and ignored his warnings.
after closing one loses almost all leverage. the time to get this addressed was before closing.

have you read your warranty word for word yet?

Okay, needs some help here guys. I bought a new house back in December. During the inspection they recommended a retaining wall be built on one corner of the house because the way they had to build up the pad for the foundation.. Well that was brought up and we were told that it would not be needed and that if something did come up, the warranty would cover it.

Well, low and behold the bedroom on that corners door started sticking.. Slowly getting worse. After reviewing the door to make sure it was just not loose i found no problem. Went outside to that corner and noticed holes starting to form under the foundation "I can stick my hand under there". The only thing I can come up with is that corner of the house is sinking... not much but enough.

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[Parks 788]

On the Paper Trail: Get a dedicated binder or folder of sorts. Make sure (as said already) have the builder, in wirting, get you a letter stating what their conclusion is and tuck that away in the binder. From here on out, on every single phone call to whomever it is to you write the company/organizations name, date, time, the first and last name of person you spoke to and their title within the organization. Also, a brief discription as to what the conversation was about. You need details as to what was said and talked about for every conversation you have on the phone. Also, when you have a visitor from the builder, city building department, engineer or whomever have a small video or voice recorder and make sure it is all on tape. Thell the visitor you will be recording by video or audio the visit. Make sure they know this is happening. Any and all letters and emails need to be printed and put in said binder. It really is a pretty simple process to get/keep a paper trail.

On another note. You mentioned the builder said that it looks like the plumbing trench was settling. I know from experience that if the recompaction of trenches are not done at all or not done properly they can wreak havoc on a building footing/foundation. SImply laying your pipe and throwing dirt back in the trench and then having a 300# guy walking the trench is not even close to properly compacting a trench. It takes the proper equipment to get compaction so the rest of the building doesn't have problems down the line. Chances are, there is something in the building code that states how the compaction should be done and to what percent the compaction should achieve.

 

[CODE_3]

Wow!!!

 

[eellis]

The foundation has to have a footing. Sometimes they can widen the footing if they are in loose soil , but still must have a footing also check with the city requirements and wether or not the footing was inspected which also is required . This guy may be in trouble with the city as well. this could have been a mistake during concrete pouring and added at a later time and poured without a footing . I am not an expert but would like to see more pics or maybe check I out in person.

 

[HMFIC]

Good luck. I think at the point you are at, I'd be hiring an attorney and some foundation professionals to guide me further.

 

[joemonday]

Your foundation could be a pier and grade beam type foundation which is allowed in Tulsa and probably OKC. This type of foundation is sometimes used where the house is built on fill or when the existing soil tends to swell and contract from moisture or lack thereof. I have built houses where the engineer has recommended placing cardboard forms in the bottom of the grade beam to purposely create a void to allow the ground to swell without lifting the grade beam off the piers. When piers are needed, a grade beam is cheaper than a footing and stem wall type foundation, and if designed properly, just as strong. The biggest negative is that brick or stone must sit on top of the beam and the concrete beam will always be visible. If the Builder was not the Seller your recourse is probably with the Seller/Owner and they in turn can look to the Builder. You should check this out but I think in Oklahoma the foundation of a new house by law is warranted for 10 years.

 

[eellis]

 

[AdvantageR1]

From the pictures provided that is a pier and grade beam foundation. I used to work for a family that did foundations.

Pier and Grade Beam = Piers drilled a set distance apart and a set depth for the level of fill dirt. The piers are poured to the surface of the ground and pieces of rebar are put in the concrete. The stemwall is set on top of the ground and on top of the piers instead of a footing. They tie rebar into the stem and then pour the concrete.

An easy way to tell if the house has a footing and stem or a pier and grade beam foundation is by looking at the sides of the house. If the brick goes all the way down to the ground then it is a footing/stem. If the brick only goes down to ground in the front of the house but not on the sides then it is a pier/grade beam.

Almost all of the high end houses use footing/stem.


Now if there is a large amount of fill dirt that they used to level the pad, then they will have to drill deep/er piers to help stablize the foundation.

Best of luck with everything.

 

[eellis]

Advantage is correct that is a Peir and grade type footing. I think in Norman they have to have a one foot Peir every 6 feet. If you don't have any mortar joints cracking or Sheetrock cracking then you might be ok. Yes I forgot about that type of footing cause I've never used it. As for the retaining wall good luck cause they ain't cheap.

 

[soonersfan]

Your footing looks to be solid. If you're not seeing cracks in the brick mortar, you're probably fine. Your footing supports the weight of the house itself and structurally is the most important part of the house. Seeing some space under this type of footing isn't that big of a deal but almost no one uses these types of footings anymore. It is too bad the builder didn't take a few minutes to explain the type of footing and how your house is supported.

Your slab on the other hand will sometimes move and cause the need for some door adjustments and potentially sheetrock issues. While it is still an inconvenience and steps can me made to minimize it happening, it does happen but it's not necessarily structural. If your house is built on red clay, that stuff can really contract in the heat and your slab is sitting right on it. That can cause some movement and explain the door issue.

Having said that, I would still have a foundation expert check out your house. Many of them offer free inspections/quotes. Also, at the very least it is still the builder's responsibility to have his trim carpenter come back out and adjust that door for you under your one year warranty. It may require some sanding, longer screws in the hinges, etc. but it shouldn't take them longer that 30 minutes to get it fixed up.