Notes

Foundation Problems? Most Aren't
Cracks inside concrete foundation slab? Cracks within the corners of Windows? Cracked porcelain tile? It must be foundation problems, we'll remedy it for $25,000. That's what you'll hear from most Foundation repair companies. Most of the times, you won't have foundation problems.
There are simple truths about building materials as well as their behavior in construction that any honest and knowledgeable structural engineer knows, and also this is among the recommendations for understand potential foundation problems. For instance, concrete hardens with time, because it hardens it shrinks thus cracking. Concrete tends to expand and contract with temperatures changes which further causes cracking. This is typically referred to as temperature and Shrinkage cracks - they've nothing to do with what everyone associates with foundation problems, generally the building blocks shifting, moving up and down, due to expansion or settlement of the soil.
What about Cracks inside floor tile? Tile is "glued" on the concrete slab, so any movement or crack that occurs inside the slab will also occur inside the tile, including temperature and shrinkage cracks. Not as a result of foundation problems.
Cracks inside corners door and windows are incredibly common, usually due to the pad itself, gypsum board, which incidentally, is a concrete product, also it too cracks mainly because it gets older. As it turns out, concrete doesn't like corners because the geometrical form of a corner usually creates stress concentration. Many residential and commercial foundations have chipped concrete right in the edges of the corners as this is this can be the way concrete behaves, case the fabric properties of concrete. With windows and doors you are actually experiencing also wind pushing against the house, and even with an above average structural engineer designing your home, probably in the end you produce a crack inside the corner of windows and doors.
There's find out here among contractors and structural engineers that is certainly "the only thing we can guarantee is always that concrete will crack".
We're most certainly not suggesting that nobody has foundation problems but we are praoclaiming that most with the problems homeowners consider as foundation complaints are the truth is, not foundation problems. No foundation problems means no structural problems. The fix for such non structural foundation problems is patching, and sometimes there is no fix, like inside the case of temperature and shrinkage cracks in the foundation.
Therefore, it's important to choose an experienced structural engineer, but many importantly, a structural engineer that does not offer foundation repair services. A structural engineer who works for a company providing you with foundation repairs comes with a enormous and inherent conflict of interest. Our experience is always that often, these structural engineers treat everything as foundation problems and also this might end up costing you several lots of money with the result that your foundation won't be much better pc originally was.
If you have doubts about your foundation, just engage a structural engineer it doesn't offer repair services. He'll perform a foundation inspection and definately will tell you what problems, if any, your foundation has. Also, make sure you check with any local board of professional engineers to ensure that the engineer you hire is the truth is licensed to train structural engineering.
My Website: https://nrmconsultants.com.au/integrated-solutions/