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crack on the new construction stem wall

Benji_

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Joined
Nov 20, 2025
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we're building a new home and found tht the new construction stem wall is already cracked.
the foundation wall, backfilled with dirt, and the slab will be poured next week. do I have to worry about this crack and ask them to rebuild it?
the builder said that I don't have to worry bcs those cells are filled solid and the crack will get refilled with more concrete, is this possible?
I ned your advice guys!
 
depends on how bad the crack is, if the crack is bad, then you need to rebuild. adding more concrete isn’t going to do anything, it’s all about the rebar as far as tensile strength
 
you need to rebuild. more concrete doesn't equal more strength here. you need rebar for tensile strength, otherwise, you're just pouring money into a crack waiting to happen
 
Benji, if that's a structural stem wall, the strength comes from the rebar and the pour being a single solid unit. I’d ask the builder to show you exactly where that is on the engineering plans before they pour the slab and hide it forever
 
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