Quote:
Originally Posted by ken0042
This really bothers me. Why is it normal? Over time, perhaps as ground shifts. However if the basement was recently poured, why should there be cracks already? Let's talk about a possession this week, the basement would have been poured since the ground thawed. Why should there be cracks already?
It just comes across as accepting lower standards. Why should standards have to be low; other than to allow the builders to make more money?
|
Because concrete cracks. Not sure why this bugs you so much. It has nothing to do with the ground shifting, it's because concrete is cement, gravel, and water mixed together, and as it cures, it shrinks. The water evaporates. The only reason you don't see every driveway and sidewalk full of cracks is because they cut joints into them. Nobody does that for basements because it's either going unfinished, so who cares, or else it's going to be finished, so it'll be covered up.
Does it bother you that there are a whole bunch of top and bottom plates that are cut all to hell in your walls? We had to run the HVAC and plumbing through somewhere, so the ones that aren't structural, are hacked right up. But it's covered with drywall now, and the paint is nice, so does it bother you? Some underlay and carpet will cover those basement cracks right up. Or else some concrete silicone and floor paint.
Re-reading before I post, I'm not sure if I sound like a dick. I don't mean to. I'm trying to figure out why you care about it, when it's just the way it is, in every single basement in the city.