Wider than 1/4" is typically structural.

Of course, your builder will be inclined to disagree as rectification costs money.

(The wood scrap jammed between the foundation and ledger isn't a cure.)

It's nothing.

Cna you explain why its nothing? its probably just bang on 1/8 wide. during my research seems like 1/4 is structural and 1/8 is structural. seems like people are suggesting differently. im not sure what to think now 😅

Note your concerns in writing or email to the builder and any warranty programme covering the property. Certainly note those concerns in any possession procedure. If you want to be sure beforehand, you will have to invest in a professional engineer's visit and report.

Why not get a structural engineer out to take a look in person and have an official report for GC and insurance?

Concete cracks. Not "if", but "when". People aren't used to seeing perfectly fine things with cracks in them. Concrete is one of those things.

Furthermore, I'm willing to bet that foundation is stuffed full of rebar. The rebar is unaffected by the crack.

Yes it does have rebar. i understand concrete cracks. just worried because the house was severly damaged that it required a full dmeolition but kept the foundation. deemed salavagble by builders structural engineer. but i have confidence builder will repair it. thansk everyone.

Such faith is touching.

What caused the "severly damaged"?

The house behind me exploded, destroyed my entire rear wall. all the studs in the house shifted. house total lose. house demolished but rebuilt on same foundation.

If the crack was present in the foundation when the structural engineer performed his/her inspection, it should be noted in their report. If not, it might be worth asking them to revisit the site. If it is deemed non-structural, it will still need to be repaired to reduce the potential for water intrusion.

Erroring on the side of safety, the foundation should have been replaced.

Was the engineer's inspection visual or were multiple physical tests performed?

Pretty sure it was just a visual inspection. but the builder replied back to me. he said he will have it fixed. what do they do to fix this? inject with epoxy? insurance paid for a full rebuild with new foundation. but builder suggested if foundation is salvagable, it would be reused.

Where did the money go that was allotted to the new foundation?

My insurance pays for the rebuild in instalments. but in the contract it says it will be adjsuted and refunded in to the owner?

“In the event that a new foundation is not required, the Construction Cost will be adjusted prior to the due date of the Second Deposit in favour of the Owner to account for the cost of the foundation.”

" . but in the contract it says it will be adjsuted and refunded in to the owner? "

" be adjusted prior to the due date of the Second Deposit in favour of the Owner to account for the cost of the foundation "

I would seriously doubt the will cut you a check if a new foundation was not used, I may be wrong but just my thoughts.

" Pretty sure it was just a visual inspection. but the builder replied back to me. he said he will have it fixed.

Should have been more than a visiual inspection. The fix will depend on the extent of the damage, which should have been documented and agreed upon prior to rebuilding the house. What do you do if the engineer now says the foundation needs to be replaced?

That would be the builders problem. insurance paid for new foundation and agreed. doubt the builder would demolish it now and rebuild. hopefully the fix will fix it.

I think others are asking how you know the foundation is truly stable and secure in other areas without the crack. Did they do any specific tests? What of there is damage beneath the surface where it's not visible? An explosion can have a seismic impact like a small earthquake. I'm not sure what tests should have been done but I would want to know what they did to determine the foundation is reusable. I know it's too late, but I would have redone the foundation and made minor tweaks to the floor plan based on what was learned the first time building it.

" That would be the builders problem. insurance paid for new foundation and agreed. "

At the end of the day it is in actuality your problem as the house is yours. Someone else (the builder) may ultimately be responsible but the house is yours and the hassles and issues if he does not make good or drags his feet will be yours as well.

Usually a builder's problem becomes the owner's problem, blatantly or stealthily.

the site foreman said they will fix it, when informed him

Will that be a structural engineers fix or the builders fix? I would want the fix signed off on by the engineer before and definitely after.

Your independent structural engineer is the only one you should listen to and rely on.

If insurance paid for a new foundation, why are you not getting a new foundation? Where is the money for the new foundation going?

If there is smoke in that crack, it was probably there before the fire. I'll bet that's the case.

A structural engineer isn't going to want to assume any long-term liability for a bad call. My guess is that not many structural engineers have experience evaluating structures subjected to explosion forces. I'd want a structural engineer with that specific expertise to have a look or at least to confer with the structural engineer the builder used.

"Can you explain why its nothing?"

1. It's a crack in concrete; that's the nature of the beast.

2. You've got a structural engineer that agrees with me.

Seems like the builder filled the crack with something? not sure what they did

I would ask as they may have just used gray caulk which is not a fix.

could chaulk become hard once cured? i jabbed it with my nail and it was hard

They also might have used epoxy. Either way, it is a cosmetic fix and definitely not structural. It will help prevent water from penetratinh through the crack but that's about it. If you still want a structural engineer to examine it, they will need to remove this fix in order to determine what's going on and how deep and large the crack is. It might be kind of tough to do at this point.

Figured it would have been a builder fix. We have a warranty program that covers major structural defects up to 7 years. But to be considered a major structural defect, the crack must be 5mm wide. lol that’s huge crack. I guess I’ll consider to monitor the crack for now. Eventually they will parge that area. If it the crack keeps expanding it would crack that parging easily?

" We have a warranty program that covers major structural defects up to 7 years. "

Was that the original warranty ot the warranty after the "explosion"? If the original warranty, they will most likely not warrant it because of the "explosion" and it not being replaced even though the insurance company ok'd replacement. All this should have been vetted with a lawyer long before this.

They said they will transfer the warranty over to the rebuilt house. Not sure about the details. Even the builder isn’t sure how the warranty company going to proceeed with this. Fresh warranty or just continue as if nothing happened

... to be considered a major structural defect, the crack must be 5mm wide. lol that’s huge crack.

1/5th of one inch

TARION Warranty?

yea tarion!

Warranty companies have contracts that ensure they make money. I would be shocked if your foundation is still covered by the warranty after the explosion. But maybe that's a detail the builder will leave out and the warranty company won't know any better.

" They said they will transfer the warranty over to the rebuilt house. "

Get. It. In. Writing. I would have wanted in written long before anything was done on the rebuild..

You seem to be trusting the warranty company and your builder instead of doing the hard work of making sure everything is going to be ok. If the house fails because it wasn't correctly fixed and then the warranty company tells you that it's not their problem because of the explosion, then what will you do?

To me it looks like your builder is taking shortcuts to put more money in HIS pocket and you're ok with that?

In the rebuild contract, it says we need to notify the builder with 2 days notice. And they can approve or deny the visit. So I can’t really have an inspector out there? Right?

Also, if you trust this video, it is most likely a non structural crack. However, I just don't know how the explosion impacts things and whether it could cause a vertical crack that is in fact structural.

https://youtu.be/0La9oUocwrk?feature=shared

Thank you TT & everyone else, I contacted a local structural engineer to inquire by photo or if they would need to come out to visit. Thank you for the video as well.

They can't keep you from YOUR property. That only works in tract builds where they own the land up until final payment.

My insurance already paid them 70% of the rebuild cost already. Still owe 2 more payments. Not sure if it is still the same rule applies

Does the insurance company know the foundation they agreed to replace was instead repaired?