We have now, after two years in our newly built prefab house, noticed cracks in the corners, which is common when the house settles. However, some cracks have a "sooty" appearance around certain corners, and if you feel with your hand, you can notice a draft in some places. My question is whether this is normal or if it might lead to any damage to the house (moisture)? Do you need to tear down the walls to re-insulate?
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· Västragötalandslän
· 151 posts
Hello!
My first thought is whether "sotet" might be some kind of growth of some sort. It must be some construction error, and since it is such a new house, you should talk to the supplier.
My first thought is whether "sotet" might be some kind of growth of some sort. It must be some construction error, and since it is such a new house, you should talk to the supplier.
I agree. Dust. I also have underfloor ventilation and the same "soot" next to the baseboards.
But what the TS has is a construction error! There shouldn't be leaky gaps in such a new house.
Try to get it fixed under warranty.
But what the TS has is a construction error! There shouldn't be leaky gaps in such a new house.
Try to get it fixed under warranty.
What should I ask them to do to fix the error, should they break up the walls and re-insulate? You are likely right that it is dust. (I have an exhaust air heat pump). My construction manager for the house told the painter to apply painter's caulking and paint over the cracks. Can we get moisture problems or issues with cold drafts, although we do have air supply vents where cold air pulls in in a similar way. What do you think we should do?
I don't know what SHOULD be done. If it had been my old house, I would have pushed in and completely filled the gaps with high-quality sealant foam (polyurethane) that both seals and insulates. Then I would finish with soft sealant and paint.
Caulk and paint over the cracks . . . . .
That's not something you want to hear as a recommended measure for a new house.
Apparently, the internal sealant doesn't work at all in the corners. This can be a disadvantage with some prefabricated building elements if they're not completely dry during assembly. The production manager should know exactly what needs to be done - and it's not using caulk and paint. Ask him about the sealant in the corners. That should yield an interesting answer.
At the same time, you can ask about the negative pressure in the house. If the house is an exhaust air house, it's especially important that the house is airtight, otherwise, the cold will be "sucked" into the obviously poorly joined gaps between building elements.
Stand your ground!
That's not something you want to hear as a recommended measure for a new house.
Apparently, the internal sealant doesn't work at all in the corners. This can be a disadvantage with some prefabricated building elements if they're not completely dry during assembly. The production manager should know exactly what needs to be done - and it's not using caulk and paint. Ask him about the sealant in the corners. That should yield an interesting answer.
At the same time, you can ask about the negative pressure in the house. If the house is an exhaust air house, it's especially important that the house is airtight, otherwise, the cold will be "sucked" into the obviously poorly joined gaps between building elements.
Stand your ground!
I bet it's age-resistant plastic that serves as a vapor barrier and that it's not joined at the corners between the parts, so there's now a gap between the entire building elements where the air comes in. They should fix it, but make sure it gets done within two years after the final inspection so they can't say anything. I consider this a clear construction defect, so you should have 10 years to complain about it, but it might be more difficult, so stay on them as soon as you can now.
Maybe it's even easiest to remove the corner and try to properly join the walls afterward since apparently there's not much of a gap, so it's flexible enough, I suppose. But those who built the house might not be very interested in that, though it could be the best and quickest solution. However, they should also make sure the sealing layer is in the right place too. If I were you, I would bring someone with a thermal camera so you can see if it's the same in all corners, because then they should redo everything and not just the most obvious part. You can argue that they've been too careless, and since they are there anyway, you should get what you paid for since you surely didn't have in the contract that you bought a house that doesn't meet the standards.
Maybe it's even easiest to remove the corner and try to properly join the walls afterward since apparently there's not much of a gap, so it's flexible enough, I suppose. But those who built the house might not be very interested in that, though it could be the best and quickest solution. However, they should also make sure the sealing layer is in the right place too. If I were you, I would bring someone with a thermal camera so you can see if it's the same in all corners, because then they should redo everything and not just the most obvious part. You can argue that they've been too careless, and since they are there anyway, you should get what you paid for since you surely didn't have in the contract that you bought a house that doesn't meet the standards.
I had the same problem in a newly built prefab house, and we chose to do a thermography after a year to really check how it looked. We ordered a "regular" thermography, but after the first room the inspector went through, he identified 4 serious deficiencies and recommended a full thermography of the entire house. The result was just as bad for the rest of the house, and the inspector thought it was completely unacceptable for a new house.
When we raised it with the contractor, we agreed to check with the company that conducted the inspection about the requirements for a newly built house. This resulted in the company giving a vague answer that there probably were no requirements for airtightness in newly built houses and that, as a homeowner, it was therefore difficult to make demands on the contractor... What do you think the contractor replies when it comes to addressing the identified deficiencies??? Of course, that he doesn't need to do anything at all.
Then one might think that the company that performed the thermography and advertises on its website that a thermography is an excellent and important measure for a newly built house to detect construction faults and deficiencies in workmanship before the warranty inspection would consider their marketing.:x
When we raised it with the contractor, we agreed to check with the company that conducted the inspection about the requirements for a newly built house. This resulted in the company giving a vague answer that there probably were no requirements for airtightness in newly built houses and that, as a homeowner, it was therefore difficult to make demands on the contractor... What do you think the contractor replies when it comes to addressing the identified deficiencies??? Of course, that he doesn't need to do anything at all.
Then one might think that the company that performed the thermography and advertises on its website that a thermography is an excellent and important measure for a newly built house to detect construction faults and deficiencies in workmanship before the warranty inspection would consider their marketing.:x
But what about the new rules on maximum consumption/m2? If there is so much leakage, this cannot be fulfilled.
What I'm going to write is what I believe!tupas said:
If you have the draft open, there is a high risk of damage. The warm humid air always seeks to move upward. You can check this with a flame close to the gap. If it tilts towards the gap, the humid air follows it. If it tilts away, you have a "fresh ventil" gap = no danger.
I believe you can compensate for this by increasing the exhaust. Alternatively, close fresh vents (if you have them).
But only temporarily until the issue is resolved.