Sudden settlement?

[Jens-jens]

We recently bought a one and a half story house built in 2000. These cracks have completely appeared/grown in recent weeks. What do we do now? How can one determine if any settlement is serious or normal? Worth mentioning is that we've had a door that jammed slightly a few months ago, and I've noticed that the floor on the lower level has sunk slightly/become uneven in recent weeks. We have some cracks along the house foundation, similar to the picture I attached. For your information, we have a crawl space.

 

[Appendix]

But oh….

Rained a lot?
Västergötland?

 

[Jens-jens]

But oh….

Has it rained a lot?
Västergötland?

Stockholm area. There has been a lot of snow but this happened before, although the snow might have made it worse perhaps?

 

[Jens-jens]

Unsure if all the images were really published, so here they are again.

 

[Småbrukaren]

Are all the cracks in the same direction? In other words, do they all go in the same direction through the house?

The settling of the foundation would likely be the reason why the walls have cracked, right? Is it wet and muddy in the crawl space?

 

[Jens-jens]

Yes, all the cracks are horizontal. They can be found all over the house, cracks along the foundation similar to the one in the attached picture can be found along several sides of the house. The crawl space has been fine earlier in the fall, but I haven't checked since the snowfalls.

 

[Småbrukaren]

Yes, all the cracks are horizontal.

Vertical?

 

[Jens-jens]

Yesss of course! Time to sleep maybe!

 

[Ludde Jakobsson]

I would probably bring someone in immediately to see what's happening. It's not like you live in an area where they're building a subway or something similar? Lake bottom? In which area is the house located?

 

[AndersS]

Seek help from professionals on site, possibly start by consulting your insurance company. With so much and in several places in the house, especially the floor and foundation, and with a house as new as 2000, you should act now.

 

[pacman42]

We recently bought a 1.5-story house built in 2000. These cracks have fully appeared/expanded in recent weeks. What should we do now? How can we determine if a potential settlement is serious or normal? Worth mentioning that we had a door that was sticking a bit a few months ago, and I've noted that the floor on the lower level has sunk slightly/become uneven in recent weeks. We have some cracks along the foundation, similar to the picture I attached. For your information, we have a crawl space foundation.

That crack in the foundation corresponds to a rather significant settlement some distance away (leverage effect).

 

[Masthugg]

Take a picture along the foundation as well.

 

[Anna_H]

It looks serious if it has appeared now.

You can measure change over time by drawing marks on each side of the crack at several points and measuring the distance between the marks.

The same wallpaper we have in our dining room by the way

 

[Jens-jens]

Thanks for all the responses guys! We had someone come by today, he was from one of the larger companies that work with geopolymer/piling. He didn't think it was alarming since it was a wooden house that had been standing for 20 years, so he suggested that we could wait. But your responses definitely make me think, and I guess we should get a second opinion. Does anyone have any tips on an independent inspection agency that is knowledgeable about settlements in the southern Stockholm area?

 

[Psan]

Thanks for all the answers guys! We had someone come and look today, he was from one of the larger companies working with geopolymer/piling. He didn't think it was alarming since it was a wooden house that has stood for 20 years, so he thought we could wait. But your answers definitely make me think and I guess we should get a second opinion. Does anyone have tips on independent inspection companies knowledgeable in settlements just in the southern Stockholm area?

How does it seem now after a few weeks?