Despite its integral role in providing your home with structural stability, many homeowners don't spend a lot of time inspecting the foundation. This is often the case because the foundation is usually out of sight, so the need for inspecting it usually doesn't come to mind. In addition, foundation issues aren't easily detected, so many homeowners end up assuming all is well with their home's foundation. Nonetheless, this isn't always the case and is a fatal assumption and mistake that you must never make.
To avoid being caught off-guard by foundation issues, it's best to schedule for annual inspection. Doing this will help you identify possible issues early, thereby reducing the eventual cost of repairs.
What Is A Foundation Inspection
Inspecting a home's foundation is the process whereby an inspector examines the foundation to examine possible issues. If the problem isn't so obvious, the inspector might go to the extent of digging alongside the foundation to get a better view of the wall's covered areas. During this inspection, the goal will be to check for the most common signs of foundation damage, including chipping of the wall, water runoff issues, and slanting of the floors.
What Are The Common Signs Of Foundation Damage
With a clear understanding of what foundation inspection entails, the next thing is to know the common signs of foundation damage. Here's an overview of the most common signs you need to know.
1. Uneven Floors
One of the most common signs of house settling is uneven floors which happen when your home doesn't uniformly lie on all its four corners. House settling might be a normal process that you shouldn't be overly concerned with. Although, you need to be worried if a certain area of your home suddenly sinks by over one to two inches of the gradient. This occurrence is a clear indication of an uneven shift of your home's foundation. When this happens, certain areas of your flooring might start to show hills and valleys.
You must never ignore such an issue when it happens, as it could worsen and end up causing more serious damage to the foundation. To prevent this, make sure to immediately schedule a foundation inspection. However, checking for uneven floors is often quite challenging because some types of flooring, such as wood floors and carpets, conceal this defect. Luckily, you can test for this problem by placing a marble on the floor and rolling it on the inclined surface.
2. Cracked Walls
If the interior or exterior walls to your home start showing that move in a zigzag pattern, this is a clear indication that the foundation is slowly failing. This usually happens because the movement of your home's foundation puts added stress on your home's structure. Due to this added pressure, cracks start developing on the walls. If you notice this, quickly contact a foundation repair expert as it's a clear sign of foundation damage. The most common areas to check for these cracks will be around the frames of your windows and doors.
3. Sticky Doors And Windows
Another way you can tell it's time to hire an inspector to examine your home's foundation is when the doors and windows start becoming sticky. When this happens, many homeowners make the mistake of assuming this is being caused by a humidity issue. However, this might not be it and instead be a problem with the foundation of your home.
This difficulty when opening and closing the doors and windows usually happens due to a shift in the foundation of your home. As this happens, the walls of your home experience additional pressure. Hence, this causes the doors and windows to become unbalanced, thereby making opening or closing them quite a challenge. If this shift continues, it might lead to the doors and windows not properly connecting to their frames or appearing crooked. When this happens, you need to schedule a foundation inspection right away.
4. Counters And Cabinets Detaching From The Wall
If cabinets or kitchen countertops are moving away from the wall, this is could be an indication that your foundation has an issue. When this starts to happen, the gap is usually barely noticeable. But as time passes, this gap continues to grow in size and might end up being around half an inch. When it gets to this point, you need to be worried as it's certainly a sign of a foundation problem.
Cabinets and counters detach from the wall due to a shift in the foundation's position. As a result, this causes them to go out of their level. It's best to have this issue resolved as quickly as possible by a certified foundation repair company to prevent it from resulting in further damage to your home. Otherwise, your home may end up being inhabitable in the long run.
5. Water Movement Inside The House
Have you noticed water movement in your home? If so, this is another clear sign of foundation problems, and you need to have it inspected. This water movement happens because the foundation damage results in the surrounding soil getting drenched in water. When this happens for a continued period, it causes a shift in the foundation and, over time, will lead to cracks. Therefore, you should prevent it from reaching this point by scheduling a foundation inspection.
In addition to checking if the surrounding soil is wet, you need to confirm whether there's water running in your home's direction. If you can see this, wait no longer to have the foundation inspected to have the problem resolved promptly.
Takeaway
Damage to your home's foundation could result in other serious issues affecting different parts of your home. Because of this, you must always be on high alert to prevent it from happening by scheduling routine foundation inspections. To help you realize there's a need for a foundation inspection, this guide has outlined the signs to be on the lookout for. This is vital in ensuring your foundation remains in its pristine condition.
