crack in floor of new home help!!!

[cwelbourne81]

i recently bought a brand new home in the tampa florida area. 3 weeks into living in the new home a crack formed straight across the home in the same place from one end of the house to another, and now the crack is spreading up an outside facing wall in my kitchen. the builder inspected the crack and said the crack was cosmetic, however, my family has been in construction for YEARS and seemed to indicate that this could be a structural issue in the slab foundation, and i agree with my families opinion. can anyone else give me an opinion on this? i dont think i should have a crack running from one end of the house to the other on the floor within 3 WEEKS!! UUUUGH!!!

[hawgeye]

I really depends on the size,shape, depth, etc. of the crack. Concrete cracks, however, to what extent is the question. You do have a new home warranty don't you? Of course the builder is going to say it is cosmetic, what did you expect. And it could be, but he's certainly not going to start digging up your floor to fix it. I would contact an engineer that specializes in concrete construction. I would document (take pictures) everything, and contact a lawyer.

[CWatters]

I'm afraid I agree. Get it looked at by an independant professional - ideally one who doesn't mind giving evidence. A Structural Engineer perhaps.

I wouldn't let your builder do any rectification work until it's been confirmed as cosmetic by someone else.

Here in the UK new houses almost allways come with a 10 year structural warranty insurance policy. To get this the builder has to have the foundations and other key stages inspected. Not sure if something like this is standard in the USA but if it is you should probably involve them at an early stage.

Don't have anyone else fix the problem until you have resolved the issue of who is going to pay.

Good luck.

[wiley]

Not to wish trouble on you, but given the recent weather in Tampa, you could be looking at a sinkhole problem. A recent customer of mine had one. He contacted his insurance company, who hired an engineer to evaluate the problem and recommend a fix.

Glen

[frippletoot]

Yes, definitely hire your own professional(s), ones who are competent and not in bed with the builder. Also document everything and have written proof that your builder was notified of this problem. Builders will call just about any crack "cosmetic," even when it seems ridiculous. Calling it that doesn't make it so. You need to find out if you have early signs of big problems before any critical deadlines pass.

In FL there is a law re: construction defects, generically known as "right to cure" or similar terms, depending on what state you're in. These laws almost always require the homeowner to follow a strict set of steps, and if you guessed the law favors builders you'd be right. The statute in FL is Title 33, Chapter 58, 558.001 through 558.005

Home warranties can come in a few forms. They can be contractrually or statutorily provided by the builder and that type is typically one year. Another common type is a separate 3rd party policy from a home warranty co. The later has so many exceptions they are pretty much just a marketing tool, and most claims that are denied and then disputed can be squelched in the co's arbitration process.