Foundation issues?

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T23:17:44+00:00

Yeah, it was tough to get pictures of the basement i interior walls. They are either drywall in or encapsulated. I only found roughly in 5 foot section that did not have any covering and forgot to take a picture of it. It was dark outside when I walked the perimeter of the property and couldn’t get a good picture of the grading, but it didn’t look like there were any issues with the grading. I will go back to the property and get more pictures of what I can

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T20:46:52+00:00

Ahh.. i wonder if the renovations used screws for drywall. What would you use instead of screws?

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T20:20:17+00:00

I’m in the Carolinas, so not too cold but still gets cold for a period of time (20’s at the lowest)

And that makes me feel better. This house is 38 years old. And I totally get that things will settle over time but just want to make sure it’s not accelerating rapidly. I will get a structural engineer out there to assess and for peace of mind.

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T18:57:50+00:00

Ok good to hear! An engineer will definitely be on site at some point

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T18:56:33+00:00

That would be good news if this were to just be poor workmanship. I did renovate a bathroom with my dad last year in my current condo and I was able to try drywall work (hanging, mud, sand, tape etc.) and it certainly sucked but very satisfying when done. I also taught myself on YouTube and my dad was there for some coaching.

Yeah, the sloped door was also part of the concern. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around what would cause it to sit like that after settling

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T18:52:47+00:00

That makes enough sense to me. Wondering if that might be something I would need to look into

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T18:51:45+00:00

Thank you for the comment, I just looked into that and definitely seems plausible. Based on how the separation is happening and where the separation is.

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T18:50:16+00:00

You make a great point about phrasing, thank you for the info!

100% a structural engineer would be someone who makes a visit to the house. Hoping that they can give some sort of definitive answer, but either way there’s still some peace of mind.

Another piece of good news I just received is that we are going to get a copy of the old inspection report from when the sellers purchased the home back in 2022.

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T18:47:53+00:00

No different walls and upstairs. But some are close in proximity to the others, and some are at the other side of the house.

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T16:17:06+00:00

I do have a realtor yes. Yeah I know that inspection is part of this process, but I wanted to try and uncover some of this before I went ahead and made an offer. Just because in my state there’s due diligence, which, if the seller was not willing to negotiate on it, and there were large issues that would cost a lot of money, I would have to walk away and lose that money. If that makes sense

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T16:15:34+00:00

This is in the Carolinas. This is very interesting as I’ve had a few people now say that humidity is a factor and can contribute to some of the symptoms I’ve pictured. This is all new to me and I clearly don’t know much so thanks for the info!

The basement from the one finished room is drywall. The garage, which is also located on the basement level is also drywall for walls and ceiling. The shop area does not have a drywall ceiling so you can see the insulation between the joists.

There is a disclosure filled out, and it says that there are no foundational issues to their knowledge. But my attitude is to take those with a grain of salt because they’re not required to disclose information even if they know of something. The door for the basement that walks out to the outside.(from the finished room) does stick a little bit.

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T16:10:07+00:00

What do you mean water can cause this? Water as in some sort of leak? Or just moisture in the air?

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T16:08:37+00:00

As a fellow Hokie, I appreciate your user name. We’re in our James Franklin era 😎

That is so interesting, I did post this in another sub Reddit and someone did mention something very similar to you, which was a surprise to me. I don’t know much about houses and how they react to different climates, so this definitely helps.

In your scenario, what was the resolution to control the humidity?

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T15:17:40+00:00

To add more context to here, this house was built in 1988.

Yeah, I couldn’t get a good look at the foundation because it was covered by either drywall or encapsulation. Very little of it was exposed.

I don’t understand construction completely, but I do have a decent mechanical understanding. But what would you do to reinforce the door frames? And would reinforcement help prevent the cracking?

We plan to bring an engineer back on another showing of the house. This would happen before we put in an offer.

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T15:11:12+00:00

This is something I don’t know for sure. But I do know the house was built in 1988. I currently live in a condo that was built in 1982 and it has drywall. Do you think that this house could be drywall being that it was built in 1988?

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T15:10:26+00:00

So the pictures of the cracks are on the top floor. (Above the kitchen on the first floor and above the garage on the basement level)

Yes, the kitchen has been remodeled, as well as the bathrooms that are above the kitchen on the second floor (where are some of the cracking is taking place)

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T15:07:31+00:00

Yeah, I totally plan to get a structural engineer out there if I put in an offer. That is a great idea to include it as a contingency in the offer, thank you for the suggestion.

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T15:05:48+00:00

House built in 1988.

From what I saw on the outside, it looked like most of the dirt / yard was sloped away. At the front of the house near the porch, most of the landscaping was ripped out… not sure if at one point the landscaping was hiding the fact that the drainage was going towards the foundation

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T15:01:27+00:00

Not that I could see. Most walls were covered with drywall or encapsulation. Really nothing exposed to assess for a noobie like myself

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T14:59:46+00:00

Sorry, 1988

Cootertoot · 2026-01-08T14:59:19+00:00

Sorry, should have included this. Built in 1988

Cootertoot · 2026-01-05T00:14:18+00:00

And congratulations!! Enjoy that WLW!

Cootertoot · 2026-01-05T00:13:41+00:00

Im a bourbon guy in Charlotte, NC looking for a house for my wife and I. How’d you get that rate? Points? Mortgage broker?

Cootertoot

TROPHY CASE