As a house owner, you should be aware that a damaged foundation is one of the most significant issues a property owner may have. A house’s foundation is its most crucial component, upon which the entire structure is built, and it depends on optimal operation on level, stable ground. The foundation may shift, crack, and start to split the home with opposing forces as moisture leaves the earth and returns unevenly. Fortunately, you can learn how to properly maintain your foundation and look out for warning indications of difficulty to protect your house and family from these issues.
Although owning a home can be very rewarding, it can also be a lot of work. Maintaining the foundation of a home properly is one of the most crucial things a homeowner must do to keep it in good condition. In this article, we will share advice of experts in home construction and maintenance and give you an idea of where you can either start on the process of either repairing your house’s base, or how to upkeep it to preserve its functionality.
How Do You Know There is a Problem with Your House’s Foundation?
An unstable foundation compromises a house’s structural integrity. It is crucial to keep an eye out for early warning symptoms because of this. Delaying necessary maintenance will have an impact on your property, but it will also frequently have an impact on your quality of life as a homeowner by making you anxious about the building’s condition.
Cracks in walls, above windows and doors, as well as large cracks anywhere in the building are some of the most noticeable signs of foundation problems. Other indicators of foundation-related issues include sticking doors, bug infestations, reduced energy efficiency, mildew issues, and plumbing fissures. These symptoms can get worse over time. Additionally, if the floor is uneven and you sense a “drop” while walking around your property, that can be a sign that the foundation needs to be repaired.
Foundation Maintenance Tips
So what should you do when you have noticed these things and are getting worried about possible damage to the structure of your house? First and foremost, you should seek professional evaluation and advice from a specialist in your area, as they will be most equipped to help you deal with problems of this potential magnitude. Delaying taking action in this case can have dire consequences, and any expenses you will carry as a result of a timely evaluation will be multiplied many times down the road.
If you are only looking to make better choices to keep your house’s foundation strong and healthy, here are some tips and tricks that will help your house’s base last longer and in better condition.
Repair Visible Cracks Around the Foundation
Every few months, especially during the summer, it is beneficial to go around your foundation and look for any signs of concern. It is crucial to seal any holes or hairline fractures you notice in your foundation since trailing insects might speed its degradation. If your home has a pier and beam foundation, look for moisture, mildew, and wood rot in the crawlspace.
You should inspect your foundation if it has cracks to determine their size and the source of the fractures. It is always preferable to treat fractures early on. Get a foundation inspection from a professional if your home is settling or sinking.
Maintain Ground Moisture Levels Around Your Foundation
When there is a drought, clay-rich soil dries out and contracts, which causes a large majority of foundation cracks. The foundation becomes extremely heavy and becomes caught in the middle because not all earth contracts in the same manner. As some soil pushes one way and some soil pulls another.
Because of the uneven terrain, there may be a fracture, which could lead to all the horror stories you have heard about foundation problems. Simply maintaining adequate moisture in the earth beneath your property is the greatest method to prevent this from happening.
Set Up and Upkeep an Adequate Drainage System
If you are looking to keep your estate and property sound and string, you do not want your yard to get overly wet and mushy, which can cause many problems. This means that in addition to needing moist, earthy soil, your home also needs proper drainage. Plan how water will be directed away from your home and keep an eye out for any standing water or drought in the yard.
A surface drain should be constructed if drainage is an issue and water is pooling around your foundation. A subsurface drain, such as a French drain, can be built to safeguard your home against smaller but extremely harmful levels of moisture if smaller amounts of moisture are a worry. Your systematic house foundation problems may be resolved with the aid of drainage systems and foundation drainage rectification.
Don’t Neglect Plumbing Issues
Plumbing problems always involve moisture. Therefore they can have a direct impact on your foundation. The largest threat to the foundation is a leak that allows water to seep into the ground, perhaps softening it beyond the point at which it should be moist. Plumbing leaks, especially under-slab plumbing leaks, are one of the leading causes of foundation deterioration. These leaks can happen in sprinkler systems, sewer lines, freshwater lines, and other plumbing components. A qualified plumber can use hydrostatic testing to uncover plumbing leaks you cannot see or locate if you suspect you have one.
You should always get your plumbing issues resolved swiftly and efficiently so they do not affect how you manage your foundation.
Ground Levels Around Your Property Matter
Your foundation’s surroundings should slope away, not the other way around, to draw any excess moisture away from it so that it does not affect it too hard. Your home should never be at the foot of a hill, neither as a feature of your own yard nor should it be situated in a neighborhood slope in general. Make every effort to position your home at the peak of a moderate slope that extends outward toward the fences, with the entire yard serving as a drainage channel.
Beautify Premises and Help Your Foundation
A more artful way of dealing with excess moisture around your foundation is implementing flowerbeds and trees around your property, as plants naturally take up excess water in the ground around your property. Raised flower beds, or other flower beds that protrude from the ground, are very popular. Even though it might look lovely, it is crucial that your flower beds do not reach the house’s foundation and that they are artistically sloped away from the house to improve the yard’s capacity to drain excess water.
Make sure that any shrubs or other plants you have planted stay modest and short, ideally no taller than one meter, if you have placed them close to the foundation of your home. Tall plants need a lot of water to remain healthy; therefore placing so much water close to the foundation could eventually cause harm. To protect home foundations, grow shrubs and hedges approximately a meter away from the structure and keep them trimmed.
Massive tree roots will drain the water from the soil surrounding your structure and cause harm because trees require moisture to survive. Transpiration is the term used to describe this phenomenon. Asking your neighborhood nurseryman about the expected root size and moisture requirements of any trees you are thinking of adding to your landscaping is always a good idea. The best course of action is to have a root barrier put around your property if there are already large trees close to your foundation. Tree roots will not be able to penetrate this barrier, which is buried in the ground and composed of plastic, metal, or another substance. Root barriers steer roots away from your property and navigate them downhill instead.
We hope that, with the help of these foundation maintenance tips, your house will stand long and strong for years to come, keeping your peace of mind and allowing for more space for something more creative and lucrative, like installing an additional terrace or a fireplace around your house. However, a good homeowner always keeps crucial basics intact and looks out for the health and integrity of their foundation before they set out to accomplish more, as they remember – building anything new still requires solid support of old.
