Who to have come look at cracks in walls?

[Anonymous]

Live in a 1940s home in Nova with multiple additions over the years. Who can we get to come look at some cracks in the walls and whatnot to see if there are any structural issues we need to address? Any suggestions for reliable companies or types of companies that do this?

[Anonymous]

When we had cracks forming and some other issues that had us wondering about possible foundation issues, we called JES. The guy who came out was great. He did a very thorough inspection, took some laser measurements and then explained his findings in detail. All for no charge. We were relieved to learn it didn't need any foundation work but he did recommend some other minor stuff like, extending our downspouts, changing out the sump pump and adding a battery back-up, and some concrete lifting to our sunken stoop and walkway, all which we went with. Can't recommend them enough. I kept my appointment with another company I called and the guy was clearly just a salesman who barely looked at anything then wanted to push his $35k foundation repairs on me. If I hadn't talked to the guy from JES before him, who explained why it didn't need anything, I may have believed him and got ripped off. I cancelled the third company I'd set with. I didn't feel like sitting through another sales pitch.

[Anonymous]

If they are plaster walls, you will develop cracks over time and these are repaired as prep when painting. They'll typically emanate from window and door frames, but it's just general wear and tear and not structural. Repaired correctly it will be several years before another appears.

[Anonymous]

Structural engineer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When we had cracks forming and some other issues that had us wondering about possible foundation issues, we called JES. The guy who came out was great. He did a very thorough inspection, took some laser measurements and then explained his findings in detail. All for no charge. We were relieved to learn it didn't need any foundation work but he did recommend some other minor stuff like, extending our downspouts, changing out the sump pump and adding a battery back-up, and some concrete lifting to our sunken stoop and walkway, all which we went with. Can't recommend them enough. I kept my appointment with another company I called and the guy was clearly just a salesman who barely looked at anything then wanted to push his $35k foundation repairs on me. If I hadn't talked to the guy from JES before him, who explained why it didn't need anything, I may have believed him and got ripped off. I cancelled the third company I'd set with. I didn't feel like sitting through another sales pitch.

What is JES?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they are plaster walls, you will develop cracks over time and these are repaired as prep when painting. They'll typically emanate from window and door frames, but it's just general wear and tear and not structural. Repaired correctly it will be several years before another appears.

Is there a way to tell if it is more structural or likely just wear & tear?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Structural engineer.

Do you have any recommendations in Nova?

[Anonymous]

If they’re horizontal they’re probably structural. If they’re vertical and diagonal in plaster it’s just the house settling.

If you’re not getting water in the basement, from the chimney, or noticing a major problem and the cracks aren’t horizontal I wouldn’t lose sleep over it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they’re horizontal they’re probably structural. If they’re vertical and diagonal in plaster it’s just the house settling.

If you’re not getting water in the basement, from the chimney, or noticing a major problem and the cracks aren’t horizontal I wouldn’t lose sleep over it.

If you're worried, have a structural engineer look at it, but we have had two houses that had cracks, and were told this by a house inspector and a structural engineer. Never had any issues.