Normal House settlement or foundation problems?

Just purchased a house in November and I'm starting to notice things that are stressing me out. My wife was having problems opening her closet door and I assumed it was just moisture/temperature fluctuations and we've had a particularly rough New England winter with under 0 degree weather and super dry and then 50 degree thaws with foggy/soggy weather. I'm noticing 1) parts of our molding separating 2) cracks in the corners of door jambs causing separation between the tops and bottom of the door jamb 3) our first floor side and front doors to the outside sagging 4) 2nd floor doors sagging or getting stuck 5)45 degree angle cracks coming from the corners of the cracked door jambs. (and some horizontal cracks near the ceiling) 6) Some bulging screws in the finished basement drywall 7) a vertical line of what I'm assuming is drywall tape on the 1st floor.
So I'm worried there could be a problem. So do you think it's truss uplift/normal house settlement or a foundation issue? Am I being a paranoid neurotic homeowner or are my worries justified?
  4 answers
  • Dawn Dawn on Jan 06, 2014
    If it's cold weather related some of the spaces and cracks should return somewhat with warmer summer temperature's.We notice that with our home but it always returns to normal and some winter's it's worse than other's.
  • Jeanette S Jeanette S on Jan 07, 2014
    We have notices some of the same things here in Atlanta. It has been overly wet all of 2013 and we are having doors stick that have not stuck in 42 years! Some of our paint is to the point of our being able to scratch it off with our fingernail...not flake it off, scratch it off. Hubby sanded down a couple but we have to wait for dry warm weather to repaint! So do not panic right now. You did not say how old this house is. Talk with some of your neighbors as you investigate.
  • First: is the home newly built or older? This is an important question because new home you will have lots of settling and need to wait til spring before panicking. You speak of bulging screws but screws do not budge so it may be nails and they will come through the drywall (that is why screws are used by most). Was the basement newly finished? Wait until spring to attempt any fixes and unfortunately you will have drywall work. Homes do settle no matter the age but a vertical line crack is something to keep an eye on. I do not want to alarm you or anything but horizontal cracks are something to watch. I know because I have foundation/structural issues in my 28 yr old colonial home built on red clay soil and the previous owner had termite damage that we found out after we built the home that the structural work he had done was half-assed. The cracking trim and such is actually normal and a bit of caulking to disguise the cracks is what most contractors and painters do. Doors sticking could be just a matter of planing them down a bit so when the humidity goes up they do not affect the performance. If this is an older home, your house could still be settling and the history of home and what kind of ground it was built on will help. Here in VA we have what is known as shrink swell soil~hard red clay that during droughts will shrink inches away from the foundation causing all kinds of shifts. Then during a wet season the soil swells back to snugly fit the house. I hope some of what I said helps. I would not worry too much yet. But cracking and bulging nails are sometimes just a part of owning a home.
  • Kristopher Danger Kristopher Danger on Jan 08, 2014
    Thanks for the insight. The home is 15 years old, I'm not sure of the soil, but it's southern NH.