new home ownership reveals many issues

SmarterthanYou said:
over the last 8 weeks of constant 100+ degree days with less than an inch of rain in Texas and I have a 3 foot crack running down one side of my in ground pool. In the last 20 hours we've had over 10 inches of rain so now everything if overflowing with water, including the 2 bedrooms on the side that is level with the ground.

not fun times
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Sorry to hear about the flooding and Pool damage.

Here in DFW, we just broke a record for rainfall in a single 24 hour period.

Your insurance should cover the damage, and I am sure Federal Funds are coming your way to help- if you don't have insurance!

Kentucky went through all the same thing last week- and BIDEN BAILED THEM OUT!
 
Hawkeye10 said:
This is a great place to remember how California will not lift a finger to competently manage the forests, and then when they burn scream "GLOBAL WARMING" as justification for even more tyrannical government.

Was this house built correctly?

Let's start there.
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Was his house built correctly?:laugh:

It flooded dude!

That don't have anything to do with Construction.

It probably flooded in an area that never flooded before.

But we had record rainfall here last night and today!
 
Althea said:
Unfortunately, draining the pool is a pain, and filling it gets expensive. Sounds like it's a fairly easy fix, but I wonder why it happened in the first place...and if it will be a chronic problem?

Maybe a liner is the answer.
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I've been told many times that the reason most homes in TX do not have basements is because summers, like the one we've had this year, cause the ground to dry, thereby contracting and creating spaces underground, which then cause foundations to crack and break. basements and pools, same concept. Keeping the ground from getting to that point is most important, but a liner might not be a bad idea.
 
Geeko Sportivo said:
Was his house built correctly?:laugh:

It flooded dude!

That don't have anything to do with Construction.

It probably flooded in an area that never flooded before.

But we had record rainfall here last night and today!
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when I first noticed the water I went around to that side of the house. I could see what was happening. The neighbors house is about 10 inches higher than mine, so all that water was flowing in to my yard on that side and to the front SE corner. I think just a new french drain on the east side will prevent that from happening again.
 
SmarterthanYou said:
I've been told many times that the reason most homes in TX do not have basements is because summers, like the one we've had this year, cause the ground to dry, thereby contracting and creating spaces underground, which then cause foundations to crack and break. basements and pools, same concept. Keeping the ground from getting to that point is most important, but a liner might not be a bad idea.
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My brother has lived in Texas since 94....first San Antonio now Corpus.....He says than in Texas foundations move....it is a fact of life.
 
SmarterthanYou said:
the crack itself is about 3 feet long from top to bottom. maybe about 1/16th at it's widest point and that part is leaking water. It hasn't been there long enough to wash out alot of ground behind it, I wouldn't think so anyway. you can bet I'll be putting soaker hoses around the house after this week.
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Pool construction is a specialty, so much so that county inspections don't mean all that much. There should be documentation on who built it and when, instructions how to make repairs and a list of dos and do nots, perhaps even a warranty. Call them and ask them to come out and take a look. Always keep the water level at the recommended height. The weight of the water keeps the sides from caving in. In high groundwater situations, an empty pool can actually lift out of the ground.

Regarding flooding into rooms, there should be at least 8" from the top of slab to the adjacent grade, and the ground should slope away from the house at least six inches in ten feet. That is an international Code that has been around for decades, adopted by many states- check the one for your state. If it doesn't meet Code, your home inspector is liable. So is the original builder. Your County might be liable too, since they supposedly signed off on the house when it was built.
 
SmarterthanYou said:
I've been told many times that the reason most homes in TX do not have basements is because summers, like the one we've had this year, cause the ground to dry, thereby contracting and creating spaces underground, which then cause foundations to crack and break. basements and pools, same concept. Keeping the ground from getting to that point is most important, but a liner might not be a bad idea.
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Do you know what codes are for footers? In our cold climate, you must be below the frost line...4 ft. Otherwise you get heaving in the winter freeze.

I wonder if deep footers are the answer in Texas too?
 
Darker Soul said:
Pool construction is a specialty, so much so that county inspections don't mean all that much. There should be documentation on who built it and when, instructions how to make repairs and a list of dos and do nots, perhaps even a warranty. Call them and ask them to come out and take a look. Always keep the water level at the recommended height. The weight of the water keeps the sides from caving in. In high groundwater situations, an empty pool can actually lift out of the ground.

Regarding flooding into rooms, there should be at least 8" from the top of slab to the adjacent grade, and the ground should slope away from the house at least six inches in ten feet. That is an international Code that has been around for decades, adopted by many states- check the one for your state. If it doesn't meet Code, your home inspector is liable. So is the original builder. Your County might be liable too, since they supposedly signed off on the house when it was built.
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That would be a lot of people failing.

Sadly that happens quite often now.

Also Texas is not what it used to be.
 
Althea said:
Do you know what codes are for footers? In our cold climate, you must be below the frost line...4 ft. Otherwise you get heaving in the winter freeze.

I wonder if deep footers are the answer in Texas too?
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I've seen that when I lived in Illinois. DFW Texas frost line might be about a foot. luckily my home owners insurance is going to fix it.
 
SmarterthanYou said:
when I first noticed the water I went around to that side of the house. I could see what was happening. The neighbors house is about 10 inches higher than mine, so all that water was flowing in to my yard on that side and to the front SE corner. I think just a new french drain on the east side will prevent that from happening again.
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Yep! I had to install one a few years ago that corrected a similar problem. My Patio flooded up over the Patio door sill and ruined the carpet in the den.

Mostly because the neighbors next door was draining his entire gutter system just feet away from my patio and he was on a higher ground than I was.

My good neighbor installed a French drain on his side too, that helped as well, just to help me out.

Don't you just love great neighbors?

I never had the problem again.
 
Geeko Sportivo said:
Yep! I had to install one a few years ago that corrected a similar problem. My Patio flooded up over the Patio door sill and ruined the carpet in the den.

Mostly because the neighbors next door was draining his entire gutter system just feet away from my patio and he was on a higher ground than I was.

My good neighbor installed a French drain on his side too, that helped as well, just to help me out.

Don't you just love great neighbors?

I never had the problem again.
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my neighbor on that side is a pretty good guy, about 10 years older than me, so already retired. He's got a handy man though that might do it for him. If not, I will, if he's ok with it.
 
SmarterthanYou said:
over the last 8 weeks of constant 100+ degree days with less than an inch of rain in Texas and I have a 3 foot crack running down one side of my in ground pool. In the last 20 hours we've had over 10 inches of rain so now everything if overflowing with water, including the 2 bedrooms on the side that is level with the ground.

not fun times
Click to expand...

Sorry man, no one deserves that.
 
SmarterthanYou said:
over the last 8 weeks of constant 100+ degree days with less than an inch of rain in Texas and I have a 3 foot crack running down one side of my in ground pool. In the last 20 hours we've had over 10 inches of rain so now everything if overflowing with water, including the 2 bedrooms on the side that is level with the ground.

not fun times
Click to expand...

Holy shit! I feel for you. That is bad times, and I think you got took by somebody. Somebody scammed you.
 
SmarterthanYou said:
my neighbor on that side is a pretty good guy, about 10 years older than me, so already retired. He's got a handy man though that might do it for him. If not, I will, if he's ok with it.
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My neighbor came over to help me install my French Drain and decided to put one in his yard too. So we ended up just making one huge project and a day out of it.

BTW, we have a great plumbing supply here, and their materials were commercial and stronger than the Home Depot junk, for not much more cost.

My son and his son did most of the digging while we drank a couple of beers! :laugh:
 
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