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I am building a new house in North Texas, it has been 17 days since the foundation was poured, I live close to the construction site, so I've been going 2-4 times a week. Today I finally was able to walk inside, since it now has a roof (no shingles yet). I noticed a crack in the foundation that goes almost side to side, maybe 1/16 wide, as well as a missing chunk in the top. The rest of it I noticed very few small hairline cracks and the sides and edges look good. I am wondering if this is something I should be concerned about it.

I will discuss this with my construction manager/builder but wanted to ask here as well. I already have a phased inspector but for the pre-pour foundation they poured a day earlier than they said and my private inspection wasn't done, only the city inspection. Is this something that I should be concerned about or perhaps hire a private structural engineer to look at it?

missing chunk

crack close up

crack full view

edges for reference, tension cables

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  • This is a "post-tension" slab, right? Have the cables been tensioned yet? From what I hear those cracks will close when the cables are tensioned. concretenetwork.com/post-tension/basics.html
    – Jim Stewart
    Jul 28, 2018 at 23:51
  • Yes, this is a post-tension slab, in the last picture the cables can be seen sticking out, not sure if this means it has been tensioned or not. From that link it seems that usually happens 3-10 days after pour, it has been 17 days.
    – Oscar Gomez
    Jul 29, 2018 at 0:25

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No matter what type of steel ,fiberglass,pre stress cables are used there are 2 types of concrete, #1 the concrete that is cracked and # 2 the concrete that will crack. Since it is summer and it has been hot I would hope the ground was wet when poured and after finished it was kept wet or damp for several days but other than that see the 2 types above.

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  • Thanks, I don’t know if the ground was wet when poured, I think it had raines 3 days before that though. On the day of the pour I went by in the afternoon and they were smoothing it woth the powered trovel while carrying jugs of water and throwing it at it. 2 days after it, it rained. The other times I went by It was late and noone was on site anymore.
    – Oscar Gomez
    Jul 29, 2018 at 0:59
  • Well that sounds kind of ok what were the temps? With rain before and after I would be happy but I live in Oregon the temps for this time of year are usually lower compared to my time in basic training and visiting family this time of year.
    – Ed Beal
    Jul 29, 2018 at 1:29
  • Temp was high 80s, max of 95 at peak, low 70s in the morning
    – Oscar Gomez
    Jul 29, 2018 at 1:54
  • When it gets above 80 I usually keep a sprinkler on it for a few days or flood it each day and cover with plastic, I still have cracks with the really warm days but less compared with no water. As long as there was wire mesh / rebar and or fiberglass in the mix it will be fine.
    – Ed Beal
    Jul 29, 2018 at 3:42
  • Thank you, I never saw it covered in plastic so I doubt that happened, but it rained. I don’t know if there was wire mesh or fiberglass in the mix, is this common? Is there an easy way to tell? I can ask them.
    – Oscar Gomez
    Jul 30, 2018 at 4:41

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