Whether you’ve noticed small cracks in your walls or your floors have become uneven, foundation problems can lead to major structural damage over time. By choosing the right contractor, you can avoid extensive and costly repairs.
There are several foundation repair methods that contractors use. Contact Foundation Repair Greensboro NC for professional help.
Some cracks are normal and insignificant, but others indicate structural issues that should be repaired by a professional as soon as possible. Whether the cracks are in your foundation walls or basement, the sooner you address them, the less damage they can cause.
Cracks that are hairline thin and run horizontally across the walls of your home may be due to water pressure exerting lateral forces on the wall. These types of cracks can be filled with silicone or polyurethane caulk. Be sure to use a caulking gun to force the crack filler into the entire crack length and not just in one area, and then allow it to dry completely.
Vertical cracks that extend from the top of a foundation wall down to the floor are also normal and not concerning as long as they remain less than a quarter-inch wide and don’t appear to be getting wider. However, homeowners should monitor them to ensure that they don’t get worse.
Wet foundation cracks are more severe, and are usually accompanied by signs of water infiltration. Depending on the severity of the problem, you may need to call in a waterproofing contractor to inspect and repair the foundation.
Structural cracks that appear in a stair-step pattern in the concrete foundation walls of your home are a sign of more serious problems. They can indicate that a section of your foundation is settling or shifting at a different rate than another part, which can cause problems like sagging support structures and bowing walls. Repairs for structural cracks usually involve pier installation, a process that involves drilling holes throughout your property and driving steel piers underneath the foundation until they reach stable soil levels. This method is often more cost effective than other repairs and requires less disturbance to your landscape and lawn. It can also be completed more quickly than removing and replacing the damaged foundation. Contact us to find out if this type of repair is right for your home.
Uneven Floors
Uneven floors aren’t just an eyesore; they can also pose a serious safety risk. People who walk on sagging or buckling floors are at risk of tripping or falling, especially children and elderly residents. This problem is often caused by foundation problems, and it’s important to address it as soon as you notice it.
When a foundation shifts, sinks, or weakens, it affects the floors above it, causing them to become uneven. This typically happens because the soil under portions of a foundation tends to compress or wash away, which causes the foundation to sink unevenly and drag parts of the floor down with it. It can also happen because tree roots may extend under a home, which can cause the foundation and floors above it to sink.
The sloping and unevenness of floors is usually a symptom of foundation issues, but it can also be caused by moisture problems or by aging wood floor joists that lose their strength over time. Moisture problems may occur because of flooding or excessive moisture in the ground around a building, but they can also occur as a result of poor drainage, which can lead to standing water or saturated soil. In some cases, this can weaken wood floor joists and girders enough to cause them to bend or even crack.
To correct this issue, a professional can use a variety of techniques to repair the foundation and level the floors. For example, if the foundation is settling, professionals can use underpinning to counter this movement. This involves driving steel piers into the soil until they reach stable bedrock or load-bearing strata, which lifts and stabilizes the foundation. For sagging or buckling floors that are caused by extra weight on the floor, hydraulic jacks can be used to lift the weight off of the floor and level it. If the sagging or unevenness is due to a weakened floor joist or beam, encapsulating and waterproofing the crawl space can eliminate moisture and strengthen these supports. A professional can also replace and reinforce these components to restore floor stability.
Doors and Windows That Don’t Line Up
All homeowners experience some level of house settling as the soil moves around and beneath the foundation. However, uneven settlement is a sign that the problem may be more serious than it initially appears and can lead to walls that bow or crack, floors that slope at steep angles, and doors and windows that stick or don’t open and close properly.
While a little adjusting, cleaning, and lubricating may help in the short term, the underlying problem will continue to develop over time, causing the window or door frame to warp, making it more difficult or impossible for you to open and shut your home’s entryways. Eventually, the problems will become more severe and require a longer-term solution from a professional.
Unlike some other types of structural damage, you can stay inside your home while the experts perform your foundation repair. The process involves extending concrete or steel piers down to stable, load-bearing soil and attaching them to the foundation with brackets. The piers support the slab, stabilize it, and prevent future movement caused by shifting soil conditions.
The experts at Gerrior Masonry & Landscaping can recommend the best method for repairing your home’s foundation based on the severity of the problem, your budget, and your family’s needs. For minor cracks, we can apply epoxy injections to fill and seal the cracks to prevent water infiltration and further damage to your home’s structure. For more severe or expansive cracks, we can also install helical piers that are drilled into the bedrock to lift and stabilize the foundation. For water-related problems, we can implement gutters, downspouts, and French drains to collect and divert excess moisture away from the foundation.
We can also recommend landscaping solutions to reduce the risk of water-related issues and other foundation problems in the future, including ensuring that trees and shrubs are far enough away from the home to avoid root intrusion, adding a layer of mulch, and grading the landscape so it slopes away from the foundation. Getting your foundation repaired by the professionals at Gerrior Masonry & Landscaping will keep your home safe and secure for years to come.
Water Leaks
If water leaks into a foundation, it can cause structural damage and lead to mold growth. A professional can identify the source of the leak and recommend effective solutions.
Water seepage into a home is common and can be caused by a number of things. It often occurs when there is excess moisture in the soil around a foundation. This can be due to clogged gutters that spill rainwater over the sides in sheets, downspouts that don’t direct water away from the foundation, broken water or sewer lines, or improper grading that causes soil to pool around the foundation.
This extra moisture puts pressure on the foundation walls and can eventually cause them to crack. In some cases, this can also lead to bowing or rotating walls, which can be a serious and dangerous problem for homeowners.
In order to correct the problem, a professional can dig around the foundation and install a waterproof barrier. This solution is a permanent one that will protect the foundation from future moisture problems and prevent the need for expensive repairs.
When water seepage into a foundation isn’t a severe issue, it can be repaired using hydraulic cement. This fast-setting material can be injected into the crack to fill the hole and stop the flow of water. In some cases, however, this isn’t enough and a more extensive solution will need to be put in place.
Another option is to use a tunneling technique. This method is used when the plumbing lines that are leaking into the foundation need to be bypassed. It’s a less disruptive method than digging up the interior of the foundation and is ideal when a short section of pipe is the problem or when plumbing pipes are encased in concrete and can’t be easily accessed without cutting through the foundation slab.
No matter what the issue may be, it’s important to address it as soon as possible. Leaking foundations can cause major structural damage and mold damage if left untreated, and it’s essential to know how to spot the signs of foundation issues. With the right knowledge and timely repairs, you can keep your foundation in tip-top shape and protect your home’s value.
