[vtgirl26]

On the second floor of my new house there are loud popping noises when I step near the center support wall that divides two of the bedrooms. The closet doors in both bedrooms have dropped in the upper right corners - I can not shut the doors. There are several hairline cracks where the walls and ceiling meet all over the house. Its winter in VT and wonder if this is playing a part of the problem.

The popping in the floor is my major concern as the cracks I can fill after the settling party is over.:rolleyes:

[schwim]

Settling is normal. Settling enough to cause cracks is not normal, but is definitely not unheard of. Settling to the point that doors no longer operate is downright alarming. I would be concerned that a load bearing entity(whether it's a wall, posts, pilons, etc) has not been placed or supported properly.

In my opinion, you should have someone look at the problem, just to make sure you're not in line for larger problems. It seems to me like someone miscalculated the required load bearing points.

The popping could be anything, really. It would need to be investigated in person to find the culprit.

Thanks,
Json

[ballengerb1]

Schwim makes some good points. This much settling in 4 months is a big red flag. It normally takes a complete seasonal cycle to get much settling done. I would involve your builder by sending him a letter specifying the problems and follow up with a phone call. If this becomes a legal issue you don't want him saying he was never aware of the problem. If the house continues to settle you may need a structural engineer and maybe a lawyer.