You finally bought that house you’ve been dreaming of in San Diego. It’s the new construction property you wanted with that sliver of a Pacific Ocean view. It’s perfect. After a few years of living there, however, you begin to notice some strange things. You could be looking at foundation problems, and knowing the early signs of them could help you make fixes before problems spiral out of control. These are the four simple indoor signs of potential foundation problems.
- Cracks show up in walls. They are most likely to be seen over windows or doorways, or where the walls and ceilings meet.
- A door jams or won’t latch when you try to close it.
- The vinyl or ceramic tile over the concrete floor shows cracks.
- Windows that once were easy to open and close get stuck or no longer can close.
If you notice any of these problems, check the outside. Use your level to see if any walls are leaning. Or maybe you’ll see a bulge or a curve in a concrete wall or cracks in the foundation.
You’re not a structural engineer, so how can you know if these cracks or the warning signs really represent a foundation problem? Call in a structural engineer to evaluate the foundation and give you a report. It won’t be cheap. In fact, it will cost upward of $500 and maybe even $2,000 or more for drawings that an engineer can use to solve the problem.
Depending on the diagnosis, you could pay several hundred dollars for a repair all the way to as much as $40,000 for a new foundation.
When you found that new house, you bought it with the expectation that the foundation wouldn’t fail you. Reach out to the builder of the home and seek remediation. If the builder won’t cooperate, an attorney experienced in construction defects should be contacted.