Signs and Causes of Foundation Problems
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No tags Foundation problems are among the major causes of worries among home owners. A foundation that is in good condition is absolutely vital in ensuring safety and comfort of your family. However, regardless of how well a property is built, problems are bound to occur on its foundation at some point. The best way of dealing with these problems is ensuring that they are detected and fixed early. Fixing problems of a foundation on time saves a homeowner extra expenses and time that would be spent in fixing them after they are left to escalate and cause more damage to the property.
Signs of foundation problems
There are many indicators of problems in a foundation. A floor that is not level is one indication of a possible problem in your foundation. Although some people will notice this early, others will not. Therefore, be keen to notice these changes on your floor especially when mopping it.
You may also notice that your doors are jamming or failing to latch. Cracks and leaks may start appearing on the floors, walls, and even ceilings. You may also notice cracks over the doorways and windows. Windows may also not be closing completely. These are among the common tips of problems in the foundation.
Although some property owners ignore these signs, they can cause them more damage or even cost them more in the overall repair expenses. The best thing to do when you notice any of these signs is to contact a professional provider of foundation repair services. This will ensure that your property is inspected professionally to determine the root cause of the problem and come up with an appropriate and lasting solution.
Causes of foundation problems
There are many factors that can cause problems to a foundation. Poorly construction is among the major causes of these problems. If a foundation was constructed by an ill-trained expert it can have construction flaws that worsen as time goes by. Eventually, such flaws will cause cracks and leaks on the floors, walls and ceilings of a building.
Expansion of the soil underneath the foundation can also cause problems. Soil beneath the foundation expands when it wet. It also contract when it is dry. This causes shifting of the foundation resulting to cracks and bulging of walls.
Poor drainage is also another cause of problems in the foundation. This can be caused by water from the gutters flowing near the foundation which causes seepage. To prevent this, it is imperative that roof runoff be directed away from the house using good gutters. Surface runoff should also slope away from the building.
Poor or inconsistent compaction of soil can also cause problems in the foundation. This flaw happens during the grading of the foundation which subjects the bearing soil to settlement when the supporting soil starts consolidating. In addition, if a structure gets support from different soil conditions the foundation can have problems because the house might settle differently.
Basically, there are many factors that may lead to problems in the foundation. Nevertheless, most foundation problems can be fixed if they are detected early and appropriate solution devised.