hello, does anyone think this is a structural issue. its the second floor and when the client spills water the water seeps into first floor ceiling. these are multiple areas of cracks on the second floor
Angela, I would think that it would depend on many things. Some of which are is there reinforcing metal in the concrete? What type is it? Where is it located? ETC.
One of these could be helpful: Zircon MT7 Metal Locater| Metal Finder Detector Locator
2nd floor? condo? floor mud/slab in wood framed house? why is water being spilled on the floor?
2nd floor condo, water spill from a mop bucket etc, block walls
Water leaking through a crack in concrete is to be expected. The concrete looks odd. Is that prestressed lightweight concrete panels?
If there is metal in the concrete, it will start to rust and expand and eventually break more concrete and itself, if long enough time passes.
Randy, it looks like some of the slabs I’ve seen in third world countries…
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Looks like the carpet was peeled back for that photo, How did they get water on the ceiling below?
Condo’s are usually built with precast planks and a 2" topping, but water should not go down through the planks, they are grouted together.
And if that is in fact a topping, sure the hell was a poor job, they must have just floated it and go.
Did you verify the floor construction?
Hello Angela,
Hard to tell from here. I would note the issue in my report. Recommend review/repair by qualified contractor and move on. Additionally noting any other possibly related issues: loose/mushy floor, out of level/plumb floors, walls, headers; other cracks in the structure, etc.
How would one do this during a typical home inspection?
Wood frame structure with lightweight concrete poured atop wood decking such as OSB will do that. Those types of mix designs usually contain mostly flyash and sand and are used for sound deadening. When blowing up the pictures, there is no aggregate visible. This is a dead give away that it’s not a structural mix. The fact that water can leak through to the floor below is not surprising since more often than not there is no moisture barrier used in this situation. I have seen this countless times in wood frame hotels and apartment buildings. The cracks should be patched and concrete water proofed to prevent further water damage to the below slab structure
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Look at or above the ceiling below. If suspended ceiling, exposed precast planks painted or regular wood frame with drywall. There are clues when you built them before.
Very possible, but unlikely with block walls, I would think. The same could be said with toppings on the precast planks.
years ago (maybe 40) I worked on a couple of apartment buildings where they pumped a couple of inches of what they called light weight concrete on top of the sub floor. This was supposed to act as a sound deadener between units they said. It didn’t set very hard and I imagine it would crack pretty easy with any movement.