ᐅ Crack in the Concrete Floor Slab

Created on: 8 Aug 2022 09:47
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Robin82
Hello everyone,

I bought a house built in 1959.
When we removed the screed from the ceiling slab between the ground floor and the first floor, a crack became visible.
It runs almost exactly along the wall below.
Is it possible to make any judgment about whether this is dangerous or not at this stage?

Best regards,
Robin

Construction room with cracked concrete floor, rubble pile, and red vacuum cleaner in front of radiator under the window.


Construction site with gravel pile, vacuum cleaner, bucket, and cement bag in front of raw wall.
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Robin82
9 Aug 2022 14:58
Reinhard84.2 schrieb:

I wouldn’t have even noticed the mini thing 😉.
Then I hope you’re not a professional concrete worker 😱 😎
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Badener1970
9 Aug 2022 22:07
If there is a wall directly underneath and nothing has changed since the 59, I wouldn’t worry about it either... 🙂
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TmMike_2
9 Aug 2022 22:59
The fact is, there is a continuous crack extending over several meters (yards).
This should definitely not be ignored!
After all, no one wants the ceiling to collapse.
It needs to be checked whether there is a steel beam or a load-bearing wall at least 17.5cm (7 inches) below the crack.
It would probably be worth having an expert inspect it on-site.
I would consider paying around a hundred (0.5 hours of work plus travel time) for that.

Nevertheless, this looks to me like settlement near the outer edges of the house.
So there must be a wall underneath there.
After 70 years, this is completely normal.
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Robin82
10 Aug 2022 20:11
TmMike_2 schrieb:

The fact is, it’s a continuous crack extending over several meters.
That should not be ignored initially!
After all, nobody wants the ceiling to fall down.
It needs to be checked whether there is a steel beam or a load-bearing wall at least 17.5cm (7 inches) beneath the crack.
You should probably have an expert inspect it on site.
For the hundred (0.5 hours work + travel), it would be worth it to me.

Nevertheless, it looks to me like settlement towards the outer edges of the house.
So there must be a wall beneath it.
After 70 years, this is completely normal.

Unfortunately, it seems no one dares to address the problem. I called a structural engineer who said a building surveyor must check it. Then I called a building surveyor who said a structural engineer needs to look at it. I get the feeling they’re not interested in these small jobs like you mean.
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TmMike_2
11 Aug 2022 00:04
Robin82 schrieb:

Unfortunately, it seems no one is willing to tackle the problem. I called a structural engineer who said a building surveyor needs to check it. Then I called a building surveyor who said a structural engineer has to look at it. I get the feeling they are not interested in these tricky jobs like the one you mean.
And what is actually beneath the crack?!!!!!
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Robin82
11 Aug 2022 07:36
TmMike_2 schrieb:

and what is now below the crack?!!!!!
Right next to the crack is an 11.5 cm (4.5 inches) wall.
I assume it’s a tensile crack caused by pressure from the wall below when the ceiling on the left and right sides settles slightly.