sdello, yes we are on landfill and in 1990 post-tension slab was the thing to do in this area. What does that mean that the slab should be supported on grade beams? Do you mean they should dig up around the foundation (now that would be an expensive job as it is pretty much cement all the way around the house) and put some sort of pilings into the soil? We are not the original owners, but are the first people to live there. The original owners bought on spec to make a profit. The first year the builder would calk things, but then they moved on to their next development and then went out of business under that name. I would say that for the most part all these cracks have been there at least 10 of the 15 years in varying degrees. I used to caulk the ones I could reach, but never touched the cracks where the walls meet the ceiling. Funny thing, until I started wearing my glasses at home, I never even noticed them, but with my glasses everything came into focus. :-\ Some of the patches they originally did have held up the last 12 years or so. Some just kept spreading. I think made a mistake installing plantation sutters on all the windows before the settling stopped or at least slowed down as both sides of the house have sticking problems with the shutters. That was putting pressure on the opening. From the very beginning there was not a straight wall in the entire house and wall sections from top to bottom weren't even the same measurement, meaning left to right. We pretty much have patio surrounding 3 sides of the house, no contact with dirt, and then one section of the front is the driveway/garage, next to that is a planterbox area and then next to that is the frontdoor. I'd say the only sections that are exposed to dirt would be a section of the living room that is about 6'. I'd say it has probably been at a slow rate, but just never paid a whole lot of attention to it until I realized the amount of money we were spending for remodeling two bathrooms, kitchen and laundry room, also carpeting and whole interior painting. We have never painted the interior for the whole 15 years. Just minor touchups where I caulked or where there was a little wear and tear. The windows all operate, though both sides of the house, a couple windows are definitely out of square. Of course, they were like that when we moved in at 1 year old. I had the builder redo the one window, but didn't check it right away, but found that he didn't really do a great job replacing it level anyway. I'd say the areas where I patched myself, and didn't do the job right, just adding caulking and painting over it, some held up ok, others just kept reappearing after a few months or year. This was supposed to be our "forever home", so we are really upset that there might be a problem. We are hoping that this is just part of the pain of living on landfill and that there is no major problem. Can't afford to do repairs and remodel and the kitchens and bathrooms...

Hi everyone, Oh, so nice to see so many friends rooting me on and taking the time to comment on this thread. I so enjoy "getting to know" the GW posters. All so sweet and kind. :O) GAgal~ Oh, that is gorgeous. I wish I had asked about colors before I ran out and bought my mistake. LOL! That sunroom is beautiful. I'm writing your combo down for future reference. You never know when the urge will strike to really "repair" mine. :o) I appreciate so much you taking the time to share your photos. Those walls are just gorgeous! When can you come over and play? :o) Oceanna and newhomebuilder~ Thanks for your sweet words. :o) lauraa~ That "panel" for fabric in my laundry room is actually fabric I borrowed from a fabric store in Chattanooga. I had to check it out and return within a week. It's gorgeous fabric. I'd be happy to share the name and phone of the store if you'd like to see about getting a sample. I'm not sure where you live. If it's a look you like, I don't think you'd be disappointed in this fabric at all. It's silk, has gorgeous body to it, nice and thick and beautiful colors. I love it. Unfortunately now I'm not sure it will work with my "dirty" old walls. I may have to go with the toile. I'll toy with the fabrics again after we get closer to move in and things slow down a bit from the Holiday pace of life. :o) Let me know if you want that store name. :o) Caroleoh~ I know exactly what you mean about laundry backing up and it being difficult to get it all done. I too have laundry going all the time at my CA house. It's much smaller, and the laundry room is tiny! I have a maytag frontloader there, and each load seems to take forever and a day. LOL! I am really pinching myself that I am finally going to have 2 sets of machines. Honestly, if I had been thinking more clearly, I would have put in 3 sets and stacked them. ON days I want to do bedding, towels it would be so handy. Oh well. I am loving having 2 sets and certainly won't complain. 5 kids plus 2 adults makes for a LOT of dirty laundry. Good thing I enjoy doing laundry. LOL! Okay, I finally found a minute to share a few photos with you. It has been another whirlwind here at our build, which I'm not complaining about. The lights are not installed on the 2nd floor yet, or I'd show you dd#1's pink marble shower that was installed today. My gosh... it's absolutely gorgeous. Even the worker men are saying it's the sweetest girls' shower they've ever seen. Another day.... when there's light. Meanwhile, I went in tonight and took a few photos to share with you. The lights are a bit blinding in there. I'm changing the recessed lights to a dimmer switch.... it's really bright in there! Good for days of scrubbing stains, but otherwise hard on the eyes with those shiny machines. LOL. :o) Okay, here is a shot of the "machine" wall. There are windows that flank either end of the machines. The cabinetmaker is building pedestals 18 inches tall that these machines will sit on eventually. So excuse the staggered mess they are currently in. I'm just glad they are functioning since we are in our RV behind the house! Anyhoo, I can't reach the area behind the machines without standing on them...... eeeks. So... I did not glaze the wall area behind the machines. We will be pulling these to the center of the room when the cabinetry is installed, so I will have dh move them a few days before installation so I can finish that wall up then. I know the original color doesn't look bad in these photos, but trust me when I tell you it was a bit more yellow than a giant school bus..... it was not attractive in that room! The glaze gave it a bit of a "dirty" look, which is not what I had intended originally, but I'll work with it for now. It does look more "old world" now, and I like that look, so I'm fine with my "fix". I prefer the new look to the old, that's for sure. LOL! I've left the paper covering my travertine for now, as I really want to paint the ceiling a darker color in that room. The pale cream is just not working with my darker glazed walls. What kind of monster am I creating? LOL! Here's the room with the unglazed portion behind machines and the glazing on either end of the room. :o) Here is a close up of the wall, which is actually truer to the real color/look. I know the full shot of the room looks cheap and tacky, but it really does look better IRL. I promise. :O) So thanks to all who rooted me on. You are the best cheerleaders, and I can't tell you what your kind words did for me when I was feeling soooo disappointed in myself. :O) You were just the medicine I needed! I don't think this room will stay this color, but I have so many other areas to concentrate on that it will probably stay this way for some time. And now I can enjoy my room as I had originally hoped to, without cringing each time I walk that direction. :O) Thanks so much!

Well I have the same cracks/ fractures that occurred right after the faucet holes were drilled. NO FAUCET YET. It is Quartzite, beautiful expensive Quartzite. The holes were drilled with very little water and not a s slow as I would have thought it should have been considering the strength of this product. So what do I do? They want to warranty it for a year but the biggest issue is that there is only ONE slab left that matches what we have. We've been in this situation where we bought the same "named granite" a year later and it couldn't have been further from the original. I wasn't stupid, I knew there would be differences, but!!. Now here we are, what do I do to get the fabricator to replace the whole stone rather than fill and grind the fractures around the faucet , a faucet that has a goose neck and will stress the hole.

Agree with the above and would like to add that in my experience, the dust from toilet paper tearing and the skin cells that we slough off in the bathroom just build up on surfaces around the toilet and sink for those of us who do not wipe these surfaces down every week. I have some things near my toilet that just get covered with dust. Then anything on the toilet itself is sitting on colder porcelain. It is colder because of the cold water it is holding. In the humid air of the bathroom that means that water then condenses on the outer surface of the cold porcelain, mixes with the microscopic skin cells and paper fluff and powder and it just STICKS to the surface. It builds up around the tabs of the toilet seat screws because that is where the dust stops when it is blowing around the room. Any sharp angles on a toilet will do the same thing. The solution is to wipe surfaces more frequently. I had to start buying the disinfectant wipes when I had an incontinent dog. So, now that I have them in the house, I will use them in the bathroom. I wipe the toilet flush handle, the top of the seat lid, the underside of the seat lid, the seat and the underside, then I go behind the seat and get the area you photographed. Next, I get the rim. I might use another wipe and do the door handles, the switches, the faucet and handles on the tap, then the tank lid, then the outside of the toilet bowl and use the last wipe to redo the rim if it was still not perfect. I always move from the cleanest places to the grimiest places. A third wipe would do the windowsill and the counter. Now, I may not do all three wipes at one time, or in one day. I may see an area that is yucky and do one wipe's worth that day, then another a few days later. I also have disposable rubber gloves around and if I am in the mood to clean I will put on one or a pair and scrub the toilet and do all the wiping and vacuum and mop the floor. My goal is to not be embarrassed to let someone use my bathroom if they should drop by. I am a messy housekeeper, but I can still be a CLEAN messy housekeeper, I figure!