Bought a house exactly one year ago, a fairly large room in the basement became storage until it has now been emptied and will become a home theater
But, before the purchase, an inspection was done (paid by me) and I personally walked around and conducted a visual inspection.
There was a crack in one of the outer walls in the basement, everyone involved suggested it was a completely normal "dry crack/slight settling crack," but now that we've emptied the room, it looks a bit worse than a year ago!
There is no mention of the crack or anything else in the inspection report.
Now the crack has widened, and a few more faint cracks have appeared, but what makes me most concerned is that near the bottom, it looks like the whole wall has shifted inward a few cm and then bulges inward, see my professional illustration below (simplified illustration)
So, what should my next step be? I will definitely bring someone with construction expertise, but if it's "dangerous," what then? There's nothing in the report, etc... can latent defects be invoked?
How is it with drainage? When was it redone?
Pictures of the damage?
A deck was built outward (above) from that wall a few years ago (gravel-based concrete frame under the deck from the -60s) and an overview was done regarding the drainage, which was supposed to be okay.
I don't have any pictures right now (will get back with those) the wall itself is about 11 meters long, but this phenomenon is not over the entire length, just about 4 meters!
Have there been any changes to the ground outside recently (in the last few years)? It might have increased the load on the wall.
Nope, the only thing that has been done is the deck (really just a wooden deck, probably less weight than before) and then there's open space 20m+ from the house (lawn), no ground work that I can discern!
It's difficult to have an opinion on the actual fault in the matter like this over a forum, especially in the absence of images.
But regarding hidden defects, I suspect that the fact there was a crack means that you should have conducted a deeper investigation. That is, it's likely the seller is then free from liability, however, the inspector might have a responsibility if he didn't suggest a deeper investigation.
It sounds very strange that such a fault (if it's something serious) would "just appear" like this.
Isn't it just the plaster that has come off the wall and is hanging a bit inward then? And the wall itself is intact. Common with plastered basement walls over time. Just knock it down and replaster in such cases.
It's difficult to have an opinion on the actual error in substance like this over a forum, especially in the absence of images.
But regarding hidden defects, I suspect that the fact there was a crack means you should have conducted a deeper investigation. That is, the seller is probably free from responsibility, however, the inspector might have a responsibility if he didn’t suggest a deeper investigation.
It sounds very strange that such an error (if it is something serious) would "just appear" like this.
The inspector had nothing to say about any deepening in the crack; he probably thought it looked "green."
Isn't it just the plaster that's come loose from the wall and is hanging a bit inward then? And the actual wall is intact. Common on plastered basement walls over time. Just need to knock it off and re-plaster in such cases.
Sounds plausible, I'll knock off a bit and see how it looks. If that's the case, I probably don't need to re-plaster since the walls will be framed with aluminum profiles, then drywall, etc., so it won't be visible later!
You can easily hear if it sounds "bomt", then it's just the plaster. If it sounds solid it's the wall that's giving way.
Is it concrete hollow blocks that it's built from?
Bought a house exactly a year ago, a fairly large room in the basement was used for storage until now it has been emptied and will become a home theater
However, before the purchase, an inspection was done (at my expense) and I went around myself to do a visual inspection.
There was a crack in one of the exterior basement walls, everyone involved said it was a completely normal "dry crack/minor settling crack" but now that we have emptied the room, it looks a bit worse than a year ago!
There's nothing about cracks or anything else in the inspection report.
Now the crack has widened, and a few faint cracks have also appeared, but what concerns me most is that near the footing, it looks like the entire wall has shifted inward by a centimeter or so and then bulges inward, see my professional illustration below (simplified illustration)
So, what should my next step be? I will definitely bring someone with construction expertise, but if there is "danger afoot," what then? there's nothing in the report, etc... can hidden defects be invoked?
[image]
Considering the hatred towards the neighbors' lawns. how did it go with the basement?
In my world, there's beauty in wild lawns, but only hate and ill will towards those who just write in forums, ask for advice, and then disappear without saying how it went
Considering the hatred towards the neighbors' lawns. how did it go with the basement?
In my world, there is beauty in wild lawns but only hatred and malice towards those who just post in forums seeking advice and then disappear without telling how it went
Forgot to report how it went. Took time, but after several rounds of legal experts back and forth, I got the verdict in my favor 2 years ago. The entire basement was rebuilt on a rolling account paid by the opposing party's insurance company. Turned out really well. Apparently, there were several similar cases to rely on which helped in resolving the dispute.
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Appendix said:
Considering the hatred towards the neighbors' lawns. how did it go with the basement?