new construction - vertical crack

This is a new foundation, about 60 days old now give or take. This is on the edge of a foundation where there is no crawl space or basement. The edge of the garage. What little knowledge I have seems to indicate this is not a shrinkage crack since it goes all the way through at least up near the top. So settlement? This is on a non gabled edge so there will be a gutter over it.

Is this something I should be seriously concerned about? Opinions please. Thank you.

Pictures to assist:

No !
But say it needs to be monitored .

I would be a little concerned about that. It appears to have been caused by lack of proper steel reinforcement in that corner, with a concentrated load path on the outer edge. Monitor for future enlargement of the crack because it may just come right off. Maybe the foundation contractor can give you more insight on the cause and possible repairs.

OK thanks guys I’m just trying to gauge whether this is something I should be nagging the builder about or if I should just leave it alone and watch it. We close on the place in a month. I know even new concrete cracks but this kind of thing makes me paranoid.

Hey guys little update here I dug a few inches of soil out from under there and noticed that the crack seems to end at a point. I measured also the widest part near the top is 1/32" and at the narrowest point probably less than 1/64".

This is in about the middle 1/3 of that side of the foundation. Could this be shrinkage instead of settlement?

http://i.imgur.com/NgH5EwA.jpg

Owen,

The cracking observed in your pictures is shrinkage cracking, likely the result of a high slump at the time of consolidation, and likely stripping the floating form from the curb prematurely. While not ideal, likely will have little or no affect on the compressive strength of the concrete.

Just curious as to what area of the country you are located in as I was more concerned with the picture that seemed to indicate that the interior walls were covered in polyethylene. In most climates, air movement, not vapor diffusion, came to be recognized as a bigger threat to buildings. Air barriers, which can be vapor-permeable, became a more important priority. Builders also realized that because of its very low permeability, polyethylene had the potential of trapping moisture inside walls

It appears that the door opening was cut after the fact rather than cast in place. If that’s the case the crack is a result of removing the concrete. The reinforcing that runs through was also removed. You may want to look for exposed ends of rebar, any moisture will lead to issues in the future.

That opening was not cut out. Those joints and imperfections are from the loosely jointed form boards.

edit: after looking at that again, the curb was cut out, sorry.

Seal it and monitor it. It’s too small and tooearly in the life of the home to know for certain the cause and it’s next to impossible to accurately predict the future of a crack like that. These cracks are common until they start to open, then you can be justifiably more on alert. :slight_smile:

Common shrinkage crack…no need to be concerned.

Guys, he can hire an inspector you know.
Free information helps you get a job?
Just saying.