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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I'm really not concerned about the cracking. It
certainly could be due in part to the thickness of the concrete. The concrete
was originally going to be only 1.5 in. but was increased to 2 in. to hopefully
minimize cracking. I believe any thicker concrete would have required building a
much stronger floor (which is strong already, i.e., quality was not skimped on
at all in this house). A lot of thinking went into the concrete as it had to 1)
serve as thermal mass, 2) be as optimal as possible for radiant heat (gypcrete
would have been better for that--gains and loses heat more quickly), and 3) was
optimal for staining. Two inches of real portland cement ended up being the
agreed upon best solution for all those requirements.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Again, though, it's a brand new house and the
concrete floor is not on ground level (the ground level slab hasn't cracked at
all). Ground settles. New homes settle.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>You asked about basement walls. Nothing in the
house shows any signs of settling except the concrete that was stained. Who
knows--the excessively large (I feel) cracks could be tied directly to the lack
of cure time, the moisture being trapped in. Regardless, when the floor is
redone the cracks will likely disappear from view.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=sacie.lambertson@gmail.com
href="mailto:sacie.lambertson@gmail.com">Sacie Lambertson</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=greenbuilding@lists.bioenergylists.org
href="mailto:greenbuilding@lists.bioenergylists.org">Green Building</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, July 28, 2011 10:53
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Greenbuilding] Redoing all
floors</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT size=2>Aside from normal settling, wonder how much rebar
went into that floor and whether the only 2" slab had anything to do with the
cracking? We have 3" concrete over foam (heat in floor too), that over
steel joists, lots of joints cut, with minimal and acceptable hairline
cracks. Maybe more than normal settling too--how are the basement
walls? Sacie<BR></FONT><BR><BR>
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