Foundation just poured and wall bowing outward
I'm buying a new construction spec home and the foundation was poured about a month ago. The house is now framed with the stairs to the basement completed, so I was just now able to get into what will eventually be a finished basement. One of the walls to a bedroom in the basement is bowing outward. I've already emailed the super, but am wondering if anyone has any experience or advice in this area. I am in Colorado but am from California where basements are not standard, so this is all a bit new to me. I just looked up bowed foundation walls and it looks as though this a serious issue and I'm wondering, even if the builder addresses the problem, what it will do to the overall structure of the house over time. Anyone have any advice to share on this subject?
Comentarios (23)
grapefruit1_ar
hace 8 añosI would surely not continue until this has been corrected! Is the construction being inspected by a code officer? Have you expressed concern to the builder? If the foreman or contractor do not respond pronto, contact your municipal officials. Something is not right!!!
grapefruit1_ar
hace 8 añosAlso, is there an egress for a basement bedroom? It is not permitted otherwise. Was it a separate contractor who poured the walls? If so, contact them.
emmaline98
hace 8 añosA bowed foundation is a serious problem, since the uneven distribution in weight can easily cause cracking. Cracking leads to leakage, leakage leads to mold, and it's just not a good cycle. I'm curious how long the foundation walls were allowed to set before building was continued above them. It sounds like the construction is proceeding at a rapid rate so maybe the walls were not fully cured when further pressure was placed upon them and so they bowed. You definitely need to talk to your contractor and get this issue fixed. Don't be afraid to be a little firm in requiring the issue to be resolved -- you'll thank yourself down the road.
Good Luck!
L H agradeció a emmaline98L H
Autor originalhace 8 añosI just heard from the superintendent and this was his response - "The basement wall that has the bow in it is from when the foundation was poured, a pin in the form broke and allowed it to bow, the wall has been inspected by a structural eng. and they have said it is structurally fine, when the frame is done you won't even know it is there." Thoughts on this response?
L H
Autor originalhace 8 añosAnd yes, construction is proceeding at a very RAPID rate. It appears the city was behind on issuing permits and then issued a ton all at once. The building going on in the entire neighborhood has increased dramatically, which is fine, if they are doing good work.
DLM2000-GW
hace 8 añosGet clear pictures that show what you're talking about then post on the Building a Home forum - a lot of expertise there to help you figure this out
emmaline98
hace 8 añosI'm suspicious about the superintendent's response, it certainly wouldn't be harmful to get a second opinion. Even having a city inspection wouldn't be a bad idea. You just really want to be safe rather than sorry, especially when it comes to foundations.
L H agradeció a emmaline98
PROBrickwood Builders, Inc.
hace 8 añosAsk to have a copy of the engineer's report and it should have his seal on it. If you have concerns, ask to have a meeting on site with the engineer. In our jurisdiction, the engineer's report trumps whatever an inspector says so the engineer has the final word.
L H agradeció a Brickwood Builders, Inc.
Becky Clinard
hace 8 añosI just showed this to my structural engineer husband. Without seeing a photo or the wall, he did say that it is possible that the wall is okay. But obviously, get the engineer's findings in writing.
L H agradeció a Becky ClinardL H
Autor originalhace 8 años
A few photos… Not great though. I'm going back tomorrow to try to get a better shot.
Sammy
hace 8 añosWalls are supposed to be plumb, period. Don't accept that load of crap you're being told by the super. If he was building this house for, let's say, an architect or a colleague in the construction biz, or to pass a final exam in Foundations 101 (or some other hypothetical class), there's no way he'd put his name on that! Seriously!L H agradeció a Sammyemmaline98
hace 8 añosIs that dark spot water coming through the foundation? Because if it is, you could really be in for a lot of trouble. I don't know how deep the freeze in your area gets, but if you have water in your foundation and it freezes, you could end up with structural faults that could cost a lot of money. Have you gotten anything back from the structural engineer? Don't let them continue construction and just cover this up without being absolutely certain that it is structurally sound.
L H agradeció a emmaline98L H
Autor originalhace 8 añosNothing from the builder's engineer yet, but did speak to a structural engineer on my own and received enough information to make me weary of moving forward with the purchase of the house. Along with a few other major disappointments, all the signs are pointing towards this not being the house for us.
PROGN Builders L.L.C
hace 8 añosBy looking at the picture it don't look like concrete form was set straight.
With that said, therefore your sill plate might not seat fully on the foundation wall (depending how much that corner is in). It could be a problem if it overhangs to much.
L H agradeció a GN Builders L.L.C
gtcircus
hace 8 añosI would ask for that superintendents structural engineering license and also the the professional liability insurance of the SE that issued the WRITTEN report. I would not take anything anyone said that wasn't in writing. And it is complete BS for a basement to have a bow in it. I'd notify your superintendent that the mortgage company won't approve further financing until it is fixed. The fact that a pin BROKE means there is a problem.L H agradeció a gtcircusgtcircus
hace 8 añosRUN from this builder. If a builder can't pour a foundation correctly, nothing else will be correct either. No pride in workmanship. My suggestion is to go with a reputable builder and perhaps a smaller house. Another option if you don't have kids yet is to build your dream house, but don't finish the second floor, just ruff it out. The most important features of a house are the foundation, roof, electrical, mechanical and plumbing. The things you don't see. I see people go cheap on the roof, electrical and HVAC and then wonder why their house doesn't feel right. Well placed lighting can make your house seem larger, airy and bright. Radiant heat in the floor in a colder client can make the house very comfortable without high heating bills. Put on a steel roof and it will be the last one you need. But much of this depends on how long you intend to stay in your house and the area you live in.L H agradeció a gtcircus- PRO
GN Builders L.L.C
hace 8 añosI am not a licensed Engineer to make any calls, but based on experience and being certified to perform structural foundation repairs, IMO from what I see on your pictures, although the foundation wall is not straight, the wall is neither bowed inward nor outward and if you put a straight edge from the top to bottom the wall should be level, based on that most likely there is no structural deficiency... and under this condition after exterior finishes will be installed, it is possible that any deviation from foundation not being straight will be minimally visible on the outside.
Of Course to make sure and to have a piece of mind since your home is one of the biggest investments you will ever make, and for resale reason down the road if the house will undergo Home Inspection and this issue will come up on your inspection report, you should hire a 3d party Engineer to evaluate the situation and provide you with a sealed report that this foundation is structurally sound or not.
Best of luck.L H agradeció a GN Builders L.L.C 
PROB.A.M! BASEMENTS AND MASONS
el último añoThe foundation of your home is literally that. It is the building blocks that everything else on your home rests on. If the integrity of your basement walls is compromised it is imperative you get it repaired before it gets worse.
Best case scenario – the bowing is caught early and steps are taken to stabilize the walls before any further damage occurs. Worst case scenario – the bowing wall is ignored and eventually the wall caves in, taking your home with it.
C Man
hace 4 mesesÚltima modificación: hace 4 mesesRealize this is a very old post, but after seeing the picture of the deflection angle I will say that is a significant bow in the wall. I would have confirmed two things if I was in your shoes.
First, is the top elevation of the wall still level? Two, was there additional slump and voids created due to "the pin in the form breaking" and the form bowing inward significantly? If the pins broke after the pour and the concrete had started to set on the exterior surfaces it's possible the surfaces sloughed forward, but created a interior hollow void within the monolith pour.
They are lucky the form didn't completely collapse too, because that bow was caused by more than one pin breaking, probably at least a dozen. The pins are not just along the top or bottom but throughout the form work top to bottom (depending on the height of your basement walls), and horizontal (also depending on the length of your wall). One pin breaking would not produce that much of a bow, so he definitely lied to you at the time. Don't get me wrong, concrete poured basement walls are IDEAL and are far superior to concrete block walls and a slight bow in a poured wall is no big deal, but this example is A LOT!
If this was a cinder block wall foundation that wall would be dangerously unstable. Beyond 3/4 of an inch off vertical and you should start getting quotes to either tear it down and rebuild it or put vertical eye beams 4' on center along the span of the bowed wall to stabilize against further movement which is expensive.
With poured cement and reinforcing it's not as big of deal because it's all integral with no natural joints like you have between blocks and mortar, but I wouldn't have accept that either, it's unacceptable. I have no idea what happened in the end but it was probably a HUGE pain for them to cut that section out and repour it, but it should have been done. In fact, they should have stopped the pour immediately and fixed the form by bracing it from the inside (pushing it back into place, but obviously they just kept going because they didn't care, were lazy, possibly both. It's so bad even a qualified inspector should have noticed that and failed the foundation inspection. Lazy subs and a GC that doesn't care about anything but the bottom line, is what created this situation.
If I had been in your shoes at the time I would have immediately stopped all payments and hired a lawyer to threaten to sue the builder. Unacceptable mistake. The foundation is critical for any house and it will only lead to problems down the road.
C Man
hace 4 mesesÚltima modificación: hace 4 mesesknowledge for other home buyers in future scenarios, duh. lol. And I didn't tell them what to do I said "what I would have confirmed" right out of the gate. Reading comprehension is not your strength, is it?
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summery