If you’ve owned your home for a long time, it’s easy to become complacent about it. Certainly, this is quite possible when all the previous problems over the years have seemingly been both minor and simple to resolve. However, issues in the basement, or worse still, something related to a poor foundation aren’t areas that you can ignore or downplay their importance. In this article, we touch on places in the home that need to be taken more seriously when a potential area of concern becomes apparent.
Foundation Problems
When a home survey indicates some minor movement in the foundation since the house was first erected, you need to act. Whether it’s a problem with a sinking foundation or cracks that have developed, it’ll get worse if not tended to. However, this is not something you can attempt to do yourself because you will neither have the required skillset or the professional tools to perform the work. It’s best to use a quad cities foundation repair company like Helitech who have experience in helping homeowners protect their homes.
Fixing the Crawlspace
Difficulties with the crawlspace are not unusual in a home. If the crawlspace is in danger of the lower floor bowing under pressure, then it’s useful to add support columns. These typically use powder-coated steel with load supports to spread the weight and take the pressure off vulnerable areas. It allows the existing joints and beams to remain in place if they’re up to the task once better protected. Also, crawl spaces can have water residue removed using a dehumidifier to prevent future moisture concerns.
Are the Walls Cracked?
It may have come to your attention that the walls are cracked in places. This is often an indication that the foundation has shifted a little and put undue stress on the side or internal structure. For new buildings, you can see cracks that run vertically or diagonally across the wall. If the home has a new foundation, then this isn’t at all unusual, and isn’t a problem per se. However, when this has developed with cracks widening over time and/or deepening, it’s something to pay much more attention to.
Smaller structural repairs to walls aren’t difficult to complete. They do require a professional to assess the issue and to undertake the work, but it is fixable. Using epoxy to inject into the cracks to seal them is a good process. For problematic cracks though, the use of carbon fiber might be necessary. In a worst-case scenario, the rebuilding of a wall might be needed, but that would indicate more serious structural concerns.
Basement Flooding
A flooded basement, either in part or in full, needs a prompt solution. The water must be evacuated, and the area dried completely. Doing so avoids any moisture creating mildew or a different kind of bacterial build-up that could be a health risk.
Discovering where the water came into the basement is important too. Steps can be taken to fix a wall with a small crack that let water inside. This reduces the possibility of a future rain shower causing more water to find its way to the lower levels.
Tending to the foundation, structural walls, or basement issues early and often is best. It is much preferred over waiting and having additional difficulties due to procrastinating over them for too long.
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