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what would cause the concrete floor in 70 yr old house to suddenly crack and drop?
My house is 70 years old and has never had any structural problems. The basement is concrete with vinyl tile covering it. About 2 months ago, the flooring cracked and dropped about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in a circle around the I-beam - about 1.5 feet away from the beam.
I noticed today that other areas in the floor are starting to lift and floor has multiple areas of slight elevations beginning. The only thing we've changed is cut down a huge tree that was in the backyard way back in april.
I'm planning to get a structural engineer in but wondered should I get a plumber to look for broken pipes under the house. What could cause this to occur? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Answer: Well I work in the contruction industry so maybe I can shed a little light here...no way it's been caused by settling...the house finished settling 45 years ago...You didn't tell me how far away that "huge" tree was away from your foundation, but if it was within 15 feet and you remeoved the stump and roots(which seems unlikley) you have definitley removed mass from underneath your concrete slab. I think however, more than likely an abundance of moisture has finally accumulated and worked on the basement slab enough to the point where parts of it affected mostly have finally shifted...You need to consult a very qualified structural contractor IMMEDIATLEY!!!...Good Luck...(it's going to be expensive...)
