Hello
We have bought a single-story house from -64 with a crawl space foundation, siporex blocks. During the inspection, the house was found to have "mold" in the wooden beams, etc., and we managed to get a discount on the price to address this. Now the craftsmen have just started to tear up the floor, beams, and insulation, etc. Today they called and said that the flex in the floor, which they thought was due to the wooden beams not lying directly on the concrete slab, is not due to this but rather because there are gaps (about 20 mm) between the concrete plates in the concrete slab. My first thought was PANIC. What does this mean - I envisioned us having to tear down the whole house.
Now I've calmed down a bit and would like to ask for advice - who recognizes this problem? How have you solved this? During the inspection, nothing was said about the concrete slab - only that it was in good condition from below, no corrosion, etc. I guess I'm wondering if this is a load-bearing issue or an aesthetic issue - can the house collapse, or is it about whether the floor will continue to flex.
As far as I understand, one could, for example, put up long "posts" along the house from below to brace the blocks - or lay out floor leveling compound with a mesh that binds it all together.
Your experiences?!
Thanks!! A slightly panicked new homeowner.
We have bought a single-story house from -64 with a crawl space foundation, siporex blocks. During the inspection, the house was found to have "mold" in the wooden beams, etc., and we managed to get a discount on the price to address this. Now the craftsmen have just started to tear up the floor, beams, and insulation, etc. Today they called and said that the flex in the floor, which they thought was due to the wooden beams not lying directly on the concrete slab, is not due to this but rather because there are gaps (about 20 mm) between the concrete plates in the concrete slab. My first thought was PANIC. What does this mean - I envisioned us having to tear down the whole house.
Now I've calmed down a bit and would like to ask for advice - who recognizes this problem? How have you solved this? During the inspection, nothing was said about the concrete slab - only that it was in good condition from below, no corrosion, etc. I guess I'm wondering if this is a load-bearing issue or an aesthetic issue - can the house collapse, or is it about whether the floor will continue to flex.
As far as I understand, one could, for example, put up long "posts" along the house from below to brace the blocks - or lay out floor leveling compound with a mesh that binds it all together.
Your experiences?!
Thanks!! A slightly panicked new homeowner.
Don't really understand the problem description.
Is the foundation made up of several concrete slabs on the ground?
Is the foundation made up of several concrete slabs on the ground?
Hello
So, we have now had our inspector there. It appears that the walls are "hanging" in the air so to speak. There is a gap between the floor concrete and the walls. The concrete blocks are moving and flexing.
They propose that we support the foundation from underneath with a 14-meter-long beam that is then propped up. Then a layer of self-leveling compound is applied... In essence, we are, of course, glad that this was discovered now - but it does entail a cost. If we do nothing, the floor will flex when we walk on it, and eventually parts of the floor may "dip" down and leave a gap at the baseboards, etc.
One question is whether this should be considered a hidden defect. We did receive a deduction for the moisture problem with an exemption clause regarding this. But, this is something entirely different. The question is - what should we do? Can we continue to fix the problem and then address the compensation issue, or do we need to settle responsibility before taking action? In the latter case, the entire renovation will likely come to a halt...
Advice, tips, opinions on the above?
Thanks!
So, we have now had our inspector there. It appears that the walls are "hanging" in the air so to speak. There is a gap between the floor concrete and the walls. The concrete blocks are moving and flexing.
They propose that we support the foundation from underneath with a 14-meter-long beam that is then propped up. Then a layer of self-leveling compound is applied... In essence, we are, of course, glad that this was discovered now - but it does entail a cost. If we do nothing, the floor will flex when we walk on it, and eventually parts of the floor may "dip" down and leave a gap at the baseboards, etc.
One question is whether this should be considered a hidden defect. We did receive a deduction for the moisture problem with an exemption clause regarding this. But, this is something entirely different. The question is - what should we do? Can we continue to fix the problem and then address the compensation issue, or do we need to settle responsibility before taking action? In the latter case, the entire renovation will likely come to a halt...
Advice, tips, opinions on the above?
Thanks!
Since even the craftsmen who were supposed to fix the sway did not understand the cause of it and thought it was due to the joists being incorrectly placed, it should be borderline a hidden defect, I think. How could a buyer be able to make that assessment if the professionals can't?
The question is not about understanding the fault, when it comes to hidden defects. It's about whether you can detect it, suspect that something is not right, and conduct an extended inspection or determine if it's normal "wear and tear" due to the house's age.
Since there was suspected moisture, you should have conducted an extended inspection and verified exactly what needs to be replaced, etc. If this inspection would have discovered this fault, unfortunately, this cannot be counted as a hidden defect. As you did not fulfill your duty to investigate.
/N
Since there was suspected moisture, you should have conducted an extended inspection and verified exactly what needs to be replaced, etc. If this inspection would have discovered this fault, unfortunately, this cannot be counted as a hidden defect. As you did not fulfill your duty to investigate.
/N