There are many reasons why your home foundation might have a problem. Far from being a static thing, the earth under your home is constantly shifting and subject to the elements or accidents. Flooding caused by storms, and water from burst or seeping pipes, can undermine the solidity of the soil underneath you. The way moisture levels change can have a drastic effect on your foundation, but the warning signs might not necessarily appear the moment your foundation is first compromised. In all likelihood, you won’t know you have a problem until you start to notice the effects on your home.
Why You Might Need Home Foundation Repair
An unstable foundation can lift and resettle, causing cracks in the walls. There’s every chance that you could need home foundation repair in North Little Rock AR long before you notice anything wrong. This is because those cracks in the drywall or sheetrock can be easily painted over by a homeowner eager to unload his or her property – and its problems – onto someone else. If this sounds like a situation you want to avoid, then before you buy a home, you need to be sure to carefully inspect in those areas of the home where telltale cracks from a moving foundation are most commonly found, such as corners, doors and windows.
Another sign that your residence could be due for some home foundation repair is doors and windows sticking. Keep in mind that your home was meticulously designed by an architect and that every door should fit its doorframe, and every window slide up and down without issue. If you see gaps in the corner joints of any door in your home, it’s not likely because someone cut the door wrong. It’s probably the case that your foundation has shifted, which means you’ll have to call in home foundation repair experts to assess your property. Any repairs could cost a lot of money, so when you notice something, say so.
Make it so it Never Happens Again
What can you do, once you’ve spotted a shifting foundation? Of course, you will call in the experts, and they will assess your home. What comes next is up to you, though.
Your shifting foundation could cause serious damage to your home. Any solution should involve not simply identifying the cause of an unstable foundation, but in preventing it from happening again. Preventing foundation failure and damage are easy for those building new homes, thanks to the installation of steel piles which can support the new home’s foundation. In older homes, steel pilings can also be installed either before damage occurs or as part of the process of fixing an already damaged home.
