[AZ SLIM]

We are purchasing another house in TV. We are considering painting or putting tile in the Lanai right away. Someone told us this will void the warranty so if you develop bad cracks, they won't repair it. Has anyone had bad cracks in their lanai floor within 1 yr of closing?

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by AZ SLIM

We are purchasing another house in TV. We are considering painting or putting tile in the Lanai right away. Someone told us this will void the warranty so if you develop bad cracks, they won't repair it. Has anyone had bad cracks in their lanai floor within 1 yr of closing?

I have a neighbor whose house developed a huge crack in the floor that extended from the front door and diagonally through the kitchen, living room, and lanai. The crack was more than a quarter inch wide in some areas. The builder repaired the crack with an epoxy material and the homeowner replaced the vinyl flooring in the kitchen with a laminate floor. I don't think they have had any additional problems. But, I would get a second opinion about the warranty comment directly from the warranty department. I suspect that they will tell you that your concrete warranty will not be affected by installing tile. Good luck.

[Keefelane66]

A quality tile installer will place antifracture membrane before placing tile it will cost more.
Best is to wait awhile.

[villagetinker]

Ours is almost 9 years old no cracks. I agree with previous comment, a crack suppressant layer must be installed, I have done this in the den, and the material looked similar to the felt paper used under shingles. Both Lowes and Home Depot sell this, but the product they sell is very expensive. This material will stop a crack from getting through to the tile. If your lanai has a previous coating (cool step, paint, etc.) you may need to have this removed for proper adhesion of the crack suppression material.
On a side note, there is typically a 10 year warranty for structural problems, but if you were to have one the repair does not cover anything applied over the concrete.

[wisbad1]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

Ours is almost 9 years old no cracks. I agree with previous comment, a crack suppressant layer must be installed, I have done this in the den, and the material looked similar to the felt paper used under shingles. Both Lowes and Home Depot sell this, but the product they sell is very expensive. This material will stop a crack from getting through to the tile. If your lanai has a previous coating (cool step, paint, etc.) you may need to have this removed for proper adhesion of the crack suppression material.
On a side note, there is typically a 10 year warranty for structural problems, but if you were to have one the repair does not cover anything applied over the concrete.

Villages would not help me at all with broken pipe buried in the wall. Took 8 years to erode concrete it was buried in to eat it way out. Builder broke air hammer off and filled with cement. Even called Mike Scott plumbing who did the original job. Got another “too bad “. Good luck with your stuff.

[Michael G.]

Question about cracks I often wondered about in the concrete foundations in our Florida built homes.

Isn't cracks expose entry for all kinds of bugs, ants, roaches etc. under flooring??

[thevillages2013]

Originally Posted by Michael G.

Question about cracks I often wondered about in the concrete foundations in our Florida built homes.

Isn't cracks expose entry for all kinds of bugs, ants, roaches etc. under flooring??

Yep, you better pull up all your carpet and check for cracks, caulk cracks and then reinstall the carpet

[me4vt]

All concrete cracks because the foundation isn’t solid, packed tight before the pour, concrete is mixed to hot coming out of the truck, plus they use fiber instead of wire or it doesn’t get cured properly. In other words today people want it yesterday!

[bruce213]

I had a neighbor with very small cracks that were discovered at a year end inspection. The warranty paid to have his lanai painted. Looked fine after.

[Larchap49]

Originally Posted by AZ SLIM

We are purchasing another house in TV. We are considering painting or putting tile in the Lanai right away. Someone told us this will void the warranty so if you develop bad cracks, they won't repair it. Has anyone had bad cracks in their lanai floor within 1 yr of closing?

I know you can't paint the interior walls within first year or warranty void on sheetrock. Also concrete takes about a year to fully cure.

[Larchap49]

Originally Posted by me4vt

All concrete cracks because the foundation isn’t solid, packed tight before the pour, concrete is mixed to hot coming out of the truck, plus they use fiber instead of wire or it doesn’t get cured properly. In other words today people want it yesterday!

How true that last paragraph is. Yet it appears about half of Americans today fall into that category even though they have more to fight for than any previous generation ever. It's mind boggling.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Larchap49

I know you can't paint the interior walls within first year or warranty void on sheetrock. Also concrete takes about a year to fully cure.

Do you have a source for that information? My warranty doesn't say anything about painting voiding the sheetrock warranty.

[BEETHOVENMIKEY]

If you have ever seen how they build these houses and the timeline, you'd understand.
Concrete and masonry doesn't get it's "set" (curing) for 30 days. That's the chemical reaction of the lime, cement and aggregates to bond with eachother.
They put the foundations in and pour the concrete within a week or less. Construction begins shortly thereafter, before the concrete has even set for a day or so. The weight and load of the house causes the flexing and movement...thus cracks.
Equally, if the ground underneath the concrete is not sufficiently compacted, causes settling and cracks.
I would wager that almost every house in TV has cracked concrete floors and foundations caused, in part, from this shifting.
Filling the cracks is simply cosmetic and does not solve the problem, but, it's impractical to "solve" the problem unless there is significant sinking or shifting that results in structural issues, which is rare.
Cover with indoor/outdoor carpet, use a floating floor system or make sure tile is put down with membrane.

[G.R.I.T.S.]

Originally Posted by AZ SLIM

We are purchasing another house in TV. We are considering painting or putting tile in the Lanai right away. Someone told us this will void the warranty so if you develop bad cracks, they won't repair it. Has anyone had bad cracks in their lanai floor within 1 yr of closing?

We've been here 17 years. When we bought our new home, we were told that cracks in concrete were "cosmetic" and common in FL. Since we have not had problems with concrete, I don't know if there's a threshold as to size of cracks; i.e., if large cracks would be considered foundational problems that I believe are covered for 10 years. When we had flooring replaced in 2020, the contractor did not find any concrete cracks. Definitely contact the Warranty Department if your home is still under the year warranty to be sure whatever work is performed does not impact the warranty. Additional advice: as you approach your end of the warranty period, hire a home inspector. We did in 2006, and the few items the inspector found were repaired immediately by the builder. We've always allowed ourselves an extended period of time to in live in a new home before making major changes. Same goes for landscaping.

[Michael G.]

We had a laminate wood flooring installed.
Pulled up the old carpeting and found one small crack approx. 7-8 feet long.

I ask the flooring installer about sealing those cracks to keep bugs out while it was exposed,
and he said they lay a plastic sheathing down before pouring the concrete slab.

Anyone know that for sure??