My house is seven years old and the foundation is cracking again. Who's responsible for fixing this now?
Answers:
Contact your builder again, since you've already had a problem earlier & he tried to correct the problem. If he refuses to help, I think I'd contact an attorney or a state consumer affairs office & find out your rights. It sounds like you have a serious situation going on with your home & need to get it corrected immediately.
Other answers:
buy a new house if the foudation is cracking.
buy a new house if the foudation is cracking.
Your builder will or should have insurance to cover those things. Best to contact the appropriate builders association or whatever.
The builder is responsible since he attempted to fix it less than three years ago. There should be a warranty on his additional work.
He is legally responsible if gaps in the concrete are larger than 1/4 inch.
It completely depends on your builder. Some offer longer warranties than others. Read through the sales contract you signed when you bought it. If you did an FHA or VA loan on your home, the builder is required to warranty the structure for 10 years. If you went through a large builder, like Centex, KB homes, etc, you shouldn't have any trouble getting it repaired.
I thought one year was a waranty on a house, Do you still have the owners manual? I know I received one on my new house, But I dont have any more. I left it with the new owners when I sold the house. Good luck
The problem is most likely caused by poor backfill techniques. It is important to fully compact the soil when placing it against the foundation or under a porch. Most builders just dump the soil into the excavation. This allows room for moisture to get next to the foundaiton and cause shrinking and swelling of the soil due to expansive clays and freeze thaw cycles.
If the cracks in your basement walls are vertical you PROBABLY don't have a structural problem but it may cause a water leak problem. If the cracks in your basement walls are horizontal then you have reason for concern and should consider hiring a licensed structural engineer. You can verify that the engineer is licensed on your state board of engineer's web site.
That being said it depends on the state that you live in what your builder's liability will be. I am actually suprised that you got the builder back after 3 years. A lot of builders wouldn't have even done that because most warranties only last 1 year. You will probably only be able to get the builder to pay for the repairs if you can prove that the problems are directly attributable to his negligence. There is normally not a statue of limitation on negligence but it is very hard to proove.
In most cases I would say you are probably out of luck but you should really consider talking to the local home builders association or an attorney if you are considering trying to get the builder to pay. Due to the amount of time since the construction it might be the builder's arguement that you did not perform proper maintenance on the lot (keeping moisture away from the home) and it is therefore your fault that the settlement has occured.