I recently inspected a house we bought, and the biggest problem according to the inspector was some bounce and cracking in the lightweight concrete floor structure. It should be noted that the crawl space was bone dry. And warm, probably due to poorly insulated underfloor heating and also because of district heating pipes running in the foundation (free heat!).
It sounds extremely worrying, the thing is the cracks are minimal. And it is NOT spalling or rust damage, as the cracks are not along the direction of the reinforcement. In my opinion, this can't significantly affect the strength, since it's mostly the reinforcement that takes the load at the bottom, and the concrete is compressed at the top, and these minimal cracks, if they even exist at the top, probably won't have much effect. The span is 4m, which he thought could explain the bounce. I didn't think the bounce was extreme in any way. There was also shoring at a small spot near where it bounces, but not on those particular elements.
For once, I'm not worried at all, otherwise, I'm a pessimist, and I feel that if you just shore this up the problem is completely solved, and the house will stand for at least another 50 years. Without moisture, the concrete can hardly go bad, right....
Does anyone have a horror scenario to share to persuade me to bring in "someone" expert (mason?) who can address this?
It sounds extremely worrying, the thing is the cracks are minimal. And it is NOT spalling or rust damage, as the cracks are not along the direction of the reinforcement. In my opinion, this can't significantly affect the strength, since it's mostly the reinforcement that takes the load at the bottom, and the concrete is compressed at the top, and these minimal cracks, if they even exist at the top, probably won't have much effect. The span is 4m, which he thought could explain the bounce. I didn't think the bounce was extreme in any way. There was also shoring at a small spot near where it bounces, but not on those particular elements.
For once, I'm not worried at all, otherwise, I'm a pessimist, and I feel that if you just shore this up the problem is completely solved, and the house will stand for at least another 50 years. Without moisture, the concrete can hardly go bad, right....
Does anyone have a horror scenario to share to persuade me to bring in "someone" expert (mason?) who can address this?
I see concerns if you were planning to have a bathroom in the house? Will the waterproofing hold if the substrate is not rigid?
Stamping specifically at the bathroom was suggested, so that is probably a good idea, of course. Now the bathroom is nearly 10 years old without visible leakage, so it feels quite calm in that regard. But it's a good thought to reinforce there. However, I imagine that in the bathroom, there's not as much movement, due to not as much "traffic" or heavy furniture being moved. Also, not a lot of people at the same time. (Hmm, I was really wrong here. A filled bathtub weighs quite a bit, of course... and it exists. But it is against the outer wall, so maybe it is supported by that.)
The living room and dining area are another matter, and it's in the living room that it's already reinforced, while the dining area next to it is not.
The living room and dining area are another matter, and it's in the living room that it's already reinforced, while the dining area next to it is not.
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