Your home’s foundation is one of the most important – if not the most important – components of your home.
Without a strong, stable foundation, your home’s floors, walls, and ceilings are vulnerable to becoming damaged. Left unchecked, damage to your foundation will cause extensive – and expensive – damage to your home.
But how do you know if your home’s foundation has been damaged and is in need of repair? It’s hard to know for sure unless you know what to look for: the signs that your foundation is in trouble.
Sign #1: Doors and Windows Aren’t Opening or Closing Properly
Our doors and windows are designed to work only when the floors and walls beneath/around them are level.
When your foundation shifts, cracks, or crumbles, it can create unlevel walls and floors. The result: doors won’t close, and windows won’t latch. This is probably the first sign that you’ll notice, since we use our doors and windows often.
If your doors and windows aren’t working as they should, foundation issues are usually to blame.
Sign #2: Your Exterior Walls Are Leaning, Bulging, or Curving
Your exterior walls should be straight up and down and level. There shouldn’t be any bulging, curving, or leaning at all.
If there is, and it’s visible to the naked eye, it could mean that there’s a foundation issue. One cause is shifting soil that expands and contracts with the weather. This shifting can break a foundation and cause the walls above it to start to change their orientation as a result.
Sign #3: You Notice Cracks in Your Interior and Exterior Walls
Cracks sometimes happen as the house settles. This is particularly true in a new house.
But cracks can also be signs that something is happening to your foundation. Stair-step cracks on your outside walls, in the masonry joints, are a sign that your foundation needs to be inspected. Any kind of diagonal crack is a sure sign that there’s a potential problem.
If you notice any of these signs, talk to a home foundation specialist. They can inspect your home and your foundation, probe for weaknesses, and assess the situation to see if something needs to be repaired.
It’s better to get the work done now than wait until later when it’s either too expensive or too late.