We are in the process of buying a Fannie Mae home which is in very good condition. We did however find a hairline crack on about 6 of the 12 x 12 tiles in the master bathroom floor. The Home Inspector said there are no signs of foundation problems on the outside of the home. He said because we live in Texas the ground settles and expands and this could have caused the crack. Because there are no signs of foundation troubles on the outside of the home as long as we water the foundation we shouldn‘t have any problems. There is also a door that closes on it‘s own which indicates there could be a crack? However it‘s just one door out of about 12. Should we be worried or does the inspector know what he‘s talking about.
Actually he does know what he is talking about. Texas is known for ground heaving and settling due to very wet alternating with very dry conditions. That's a lot to ask of a foundation. The door probably needs to be rehung by a carpenter so it doesn't close by itself, but I have doors that do that and I live 1000 miles away from you. As for the tile cracks, that could be due to the foundation or just the mortar that the tiles were set in - maybe it was uneven. If that's all that's wrong with the house, you're in pretty good shape.
you shouldn't be worried the door is probably just off balance and inspector knows what he is talking about.
The inspector knows some what what he s talking about. Movement like this can cause tile to crack but in most cases the cracks will run in a fairly straight line. Are the tiles that way? Or are they here and there?If the are more in a random pattern, tiles my be loose , the workmanship was poor and thin set wasn t applied right or thin set was to wet , dry or possibly had skinned over before tile was set. There are easy ways to tell if the tiles are loose to see if thats the problem. The door shouldn t be a problem to fix so I would be more concerned with the tiles. Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar and check my qualifications there.
