Signs You Need to Repair Your Home’s Foundation

As a home ages, it becomes more likely to have structural issues to confront, including potential damage to or weakening of the foundation. By making foundation repairs early, before they become a significant problem, you can spare some major damage to your home and avoid some exorbitant repair costs.

But how do you know when you’re starting to have issues with your home’s foundation that necessitate some repair work? Here’s a quick overview of some of the most common signs you’re having issues with your home foundation in Racine, WI:

• Problems with doors and windows: Have you noticed your doors and windows are starting to stick, and are failing to open and close as easily as they used to? This is a common sign of the foundation settling, which could cause windows and doors to slide into a slight angle that makes them more difficult to operate.
• Gaps: Gaps might begin to show up between the crown molding and the ceiling, or between the caulking and windows or doors. This is generally a result of the foundation shifting and settling. These small spaces that might once have been tight together start to separate a bit as the house moves or sinks.
• Cracks in walls: Cracks in your interior or exterior walls are a telltale sign of a shifting foundation. You might notice cracks in the drywall, or zig-zag cracks in a brick wall on the exterior of your home. When this happens, it’s almost certainly a result of foundational issues with the home.
• Bowing in basement walls: Does it appear you have walls in your basement that are starting to bow? This is likely a result of foundation problems that are caused by expansion in the soil. When soil is wet, it starts to expand outward, which pushes against the foundation. When you consider how much earth is located all around the foundation, this can amount to be quite a bit of pressure, which creates enough force to push the foundation in. In some cases, it may be severe enough that you’ll need to add steel bracing to your basement walls.
• Sinking floors: If the floors seem to be sinking near your foundation, or you notice certain spots in your home that appear to be lower than others, this is likely a result of foundation shifting.
• Nail pops: Are there spots in your home where there are cracked circles where a nail has pulled away from sheet rock or drywall? Maybe the paint has started to push away from the wall in these areas. These are signs that the foundation is shifting and settling.
• Creases or wrinkles in wallpaper: If you have wallpaper on your walls, you might not notice cracks forming in the drywall behind them, but you will notice issues with creasing or wrinkling, which is indicative of the same foundational issues that cause drywall cracks.

For more information about some of the most common signs that you need to seek foundation repair in Racine, WI, contact Langenfeld Masonry & Concrete today.

Categorised in: Foundation Repair