Water in your basement, wet walls, or excess humidity can be spotted quite easily by homeowners. Foundation problems though are a bit tricky to spot if you are not looking for them. Those problems can be easily detected if you are concerned about the structure of your home, or have an older home that you suspect is having these issues. These are five of the signs that the foundation of your home is not quite right:
1. Cracks in the walls or bowing of the walls
2. The bricks on the foundation are showing cracks-either inside or the outside
3. The doors and windows in your home are not closing or opening properly as before
4. There are spaces between the floor and the walls of your home, and lastly
5. The molding is coming apart or separating from each other or the wall
Leaving foundation problems till they become too big can only increase the amount of money you are going to spend with reparations. Hiring a company to do that job is important, but most importantly is the homework you do before hiring anyone to do such an important job. Contact the BBB for reports on the company you are trying to hire.
Foundation company leaves homeowner with unsettled feeling
Veronica White moved to San Antonio from Michigan four years ago and bought a home on the north side of town.
Last year, White says she and her father began to notice they were beginning to have foundation problems.
White Contracted with Kino Foundation Repair to come in, dig under the home and place piers to re-level the foundation. The company did the work and shortly after the job was finished, White began to have plumbing problems. She called Kino, which came back out, found two leaking pipes and repaired them.
Shortly after Kino’s repair job the pipes broke again. White says the company came back and repaired them again, but there were other problems.
Identifying House Foundation Problems
Foundation problems may mean expensive repairs. Here’s what to look for to keep small concerns from becoming big headaches.
Knowing the early warning signs of foundation troubles can head off problems that ultimately could cost tens of thousands of dollars to fix. The sooner you identify potential problems, the easier — and less expensive — it is to fix them.
The 4 Basic Indoor Warning Signs
Houses settle over time, and a little unevenness isn’t cause for panic. At the same time, you’ll want to be alert to these warning signs that more dramatic changes are taking place:
1. A door begins to jam or fails to latch.
2. Cracks appear in walls, especially over doorways, windows, or where walls meet ceilings.
3. Cracks open in vinyl or ceramic tile over a concrete floor.
4. Windows that used to open and close easily suddenly begin to stick or won’t close completely.
Check the Outside
Moving outside, check to see if your foundation is straight by sighting down the length of your foundation wall from each corner. The walls should be basically straight, both up and down and from side to side. Check for leaning walls with a level.
