I found cracks above and below most the foundation vents at this house today. The cracks go all the way through the masonry block. This is a manufactured home which are notorious for bad foundation work in this area. The cracks are approximately 1/16 to 1/8 of and inch wide and the foundation is 15 years old. There aren’t lintels installed above vents. My question is should I inform my client of the missing lintels and say “monitor” or "have a foundation specialist investigate and make recommendations for correction.
There may possibly be lintel blocks above the vents, which are filléd with concrete with reinforcing bars in it, but from the looks of the crack, that isn’t likely. It looks like there are 4-inch solid blocks above the vent. However, the crack below the vent can’t be so easily explained. With an earth floor crawl space, it probably doesn’t matter much.
Looks like a combination of lack of lintel at top and settlement cracks at bottom. This being a oppening in the wall it would be a weaker area and in my opinion cracks would show up here first. Where there other symptons in the home like cracks in the sheetrock above this area, doors out of square, ect. I would note it in the report and go on. The home is 15 yrs old and for the most part cracks would show up somewhere.
How many of you actually see lintels at this location on a mobile home crawlspace? I have never seen a lintel installed at this location although it might not be a bad idea.
