Home Addition Separating from House

last year

Hi there!

We have lived in our house for just over 5 years now and our master bedroom is an addition that is probably about 50+ years old. When pulling back some carpet, we noticed there is a long crack where the two foundations meet that is roughly 1/4 of an inch. It appears the prior owner hid these things unfortunately and now are in panic mode. It seems like the room must have sunken at the far side and we’ve never had water intrusion and that’s after a hurricane.

I have a structural engineer coming this Monday and then have a few foundation companies coming two weeks later. Since buying the house, we did regard the entire yard and added gutters.

Any insights would be helpful! Like is this a simple raising of the addition and filling the crack or going to be more. My anxiety is high and just looking for help.

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Comments (2)

PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
last year
Don't panic, please. This could have happened a week after the concrete was placed. If so, it's doubtful it's going anywhere.
elcieg
last year
last modified: last year
A 50 year old addition could be the problem...just what you are thinking. Lots of years to make the separation, so, hopefully, it is over and done with and there is no need to worry. I found this article:

Heavy Excavation

This cause of foundation problems isn’t obvious to most homeowners. Here’s a way to picture what happens: Imagine a beach chair sitting on the sand. If you start digging a hole too close to the chair, it will eventually fall into it. Something similar can happen when there’s heavy excavation next to a foundation. The home probably won’t fall into the hole, but the excavation can cause foundation problems.

Whether it’s from expansive soil, improperly compacted soil, or some other reason, all the above can cause foundation cracks because they all cause something called differential settlement.

https://www.bayareaunderpinning.com/resources/foundation-repair/cracks-in-foundation-when-to-worry/
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