Well, our house hunting activities are picking up. We are currently considering (i.e. agonizing over) two different properties, each with different pros and cons.

But the one I think I like best has this weird gap where the garage floor meets the outside wall and back wall, which prompted me to start this thread. The seller (original owner) said it was like that when the house was built (2002). They said they have never had any problems with the garage, and visual inspection outside (around the foundation etc.) doesn't turn up any red flags. If we decide to make an offer, we'll have the house inspected of course, but since inspection happens after an offer, I need to figure out if this enough of a concern to pass on the house... The gap is wider along the back wall and narrower along the side (outside) wall. There is no gap along the wall that's shared with the house interior.

So here's a photo:


Have you ever seen a gap like that around a garage floor?

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Have you ever seen a gap like that around a garage floor?

No.

Kind of hard to see what's going on, but that is pretty odd. eta: Almost looks like the garage floor has sunk.

Do you have a long view, maybe one where you're looking into the garage from the driveway with the overhead door open?

What's the outside of the house finished with? Siding? Brick?

Are there any cracks in the wallboard in the garage, especially where the garage meets the house?

Does the house have a basement, crawl, or is it built on a slab?

eta: What is that on the left side of the picture? A step?

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Do you have a long view, maybe one where you're looking into the garage from the driveway with the overhead door open?

No unfortunately, and the seller's car is still there in any case.

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What's the outside of the house finished with? Siding? Brick?

Brick front on bottom, second floor is siding, garage is siding.

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Are there any cracks in the wallboard in the garage, especially where the garage meets the house?

I don't think so, but there was a shelving unit on part of that wall.

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Does the house have a basement, crawl, or is it built on a slab?

The house is a walkout but I am 90% certain that the garage is on a slab and the walkout part starts where the house wall starts.

Shot in the dark here...does anything here sound like it might be applicable?

https://inspectapedia.com/stru...e_Shrinkage_Gaps.php

(The comments may be instructive also)

Thanks for that link wtg... So one thing to note is that where there's that gap in the garage at the house we're looking at, it's a perfectly smooth and straight edge. Whereas in the link you shared and in a few photos I've found online, the photos tend to show a jagged edge where there's a gap.

I wonder if the seller is telling the truth -- I mean, I certainly hope they are -- and the builder built it that way because he expected the garage floor to settle??

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the builder built it that way because he expected the garage floor to settle

I'm not expert, but that sounds bogus. If you are expecting settling of concrete after it's poured, I don't think it's being built correctly. The base should be properly compacted and one should expect no settling. How would you ever predict how much it would settle?

Anyway, I'm beyond my pay grade and will wait for more experienced voices to chime in with their thoughts.

It’s way too wide and way too even to be expansion or contraction. From what I can see it was formed and poured that way back in the day.

God knows why.

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Originally posted by wtg:

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the builder built it that way because he expected the garage floor to settle

I'm not expert, but that sounds bogus.

Just to be clear, that comment is coming out of my head, not out of the seller's mouth. What the seller said was "that was how he [the builder] built it. I never understood it"

So, at least we all agree with that last part!

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Originally posted by Steve Miller:
It’s way too wide and way too even to be expansion or contraction. From what I can see it was formed and poured that way back in the day.

This makes sense, esp. the last part, because it does indeed look like it was poured that way. The edges are uniform all along those two walls.

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God knows why.

Yep.

Well, I'll google around a little more, but I don't think this is a deal breaker (not yet anyway). If we want to pursue this house, we'll have it inspected and make sure the inspector knows we want them to include that in their inspection.

It almost looks to me like it was poured at a different time.

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It almost looks to me like it was poured at a different time.

A different time from the garage structure, you mean?

Could be. But why? We may never know...

Handy hint to pass along to the home inspector:

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Tip for detecting voids in fill under a concrete slab: Try dragging a heavy chain over the floor of a garage or in any location where you suspect the slab was poured over deep fill. The sound of the chain will change significantly if it passes over a void in the slab.

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Originally posted by ShiroKuro:

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It almost looks to me like it was poured at a different time.

A different time from the garage structure, you mean?

Could be. But why? We may never know...

Even so, I don't understand why there would be a gap. People around here have had their original garage floors replaced, and I've never seen a gap like that after the new floor is poured.

I'm where Steve is at. It looks original and possibly intentional. The disconnect is "why?".

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disconnect

Yep, it's a total disconnect!

If we do have it inspected, I will let you know what we learn!