How to Identify Foundation Damage
Some signs of foundation damage can be apparent like cracks in walls from the floor to the ceiling, sagging floors, sticking doors, pooling water, or wet crawl spaces. However, it’s not always that easy. Sometimes you may only notice a strange smell you can’t quite pinpoint or uncomfortable humidity indoors that you may attribute to the weather outside.
You should never let any of these things slide. If you notice them, get them checked out immediately. An untrained eye may let these things go, but they can be major signs that you have a problem. A licensed professional with an expert eye can identify your problem immediately and propose the right solution.
If you want to scope these issues out for yourself before calling a professional, the best place to start is in your basement or crawl space. If you notice musty odors, this is a red flag for moisture issues that could eventually cause water damage in your basement or cracks in the foundation. This type of moisture is a breeding ground for insects, bacteria, and other health issues.
Next, inspect the rest of your home. Look at all of your walls, especially where the walls touch the ceiling. If a wall looks like it’s separating from the ceiling, you see cracks or splintering, bowing outward, or separating baseboards and molding, that indicates a severe problem with your foundation.
As the soil shifts under your foundation, it affects the structural integrity of your home. It can cause movement and cracks. As cracks develop in your foundation, you’ll start noticing more moisture, smells, mold, uneven floors, crooked doors, cracked chimneys, or even bugs.
Pay particular attention to all of these issues and from where they might be coming. If you need help diagnosing the problem, always call a professional who can determine the cause and the correct course of treatment.
What is Foundation Repair?
Foundation structural repair is a tricky business that requires the help of a professional with specialized equipment and knowledge. If you notice damage, you can obtain a forensic engineering report to identify the cause of these anomalies and find correlations between different issues. It’s a great document to keep on file for when you hire a licensed engineer.
A licensed engineer can perform a floor elevation survey to begin, pinpointing any differences in elevation on all the floors in your home. If your floors aren’t even, it could indicate an issue with your foundation. Settling is natural, and a licensed engineer will know what to expect in conformance with the age of your floor slab and the particular design codes.
An elevation survey may reveal no problems at all. Cracks are sometimes due to differences in temperature or old age. A partial settlement could also occur, causing cracks in the foundation, and may not be a sign of more significant issues right away. However, knowing about them now can help you better prepare for problems in the future.
Foundation heave, differential settlement, poorly designed foundations, and aging structures like rotted wood can all be causes of cracks in your foundation and require different methods of treatment. The engineer will be able to observe correlations in your damaged sites and make the appropriate recommendations for foundation repair.
Foundation repair can include basement underpinning, piering, or over lifts. A foundation repair company can assess the problem and find the right solution for you regarding basement wall crack repair, foundation crack repair, and other issues.
How Much Does Foundation Repair Cost?
Foundation repair in Brampton varies in cost depending on the size of the structure and the severity of the issue. Gathering an engineering report can cost anywhere from $350-$750 for a home, apartment complex, or commercial building. The bigger the building, the more expensive the report will be.
However, when it comes to the actual repair, it can cost a lot more. It may cost from $4000-$8000 for an average-sized house for the slab, beam, and pier foundations. The cost for a larger building or more extensive damage can be a lot more. If you have an apartment complex, school, church, or commercial property, you will spend a lot of money fixing foundation problems.
It’s well worth the cost to ensure the safety of the people inside, and a professional can help you determine what needs doing and what isn’t as critical. Don’t ever let your foundation problems go without an inspection.
What Causes Foundation Damage?
Unfortunately, there are a lot of causes of foundation damage. Humidity levels in the air can cause swelling of woodwork, window frames, cabinets, and doors. When you have moisture and humidity in the basement caused by a crack in the foundation, that can enhance the problem. Your windows and doors may not open correctly, or your cabinets may not align. Foundation problems also cause cracking tiles or buckling and warping floors.
Your foundation problems could also come from poor drainage. If you have clogged drains or damaged gutters, it could cause backflow or improper runoff. Directing water away from your property is critical for preventing water damage to the foundation.
If you have a slab foundation, you may be prone to damage from water leaks underneath. Water lines that run through the ground under your foundation can cause deterioration or soil settling. If you notice a rise in your water bill, you’ll want to look out for a leak somewhere that could be damaging to your foundation.
Intrusive tree roots may grow too close to your foundation, putting pressure on your basement or pipes running under the slab. This issue can cause movement, buckling, soil displacement, or water damage, resulting in foundational or structural problems.
If you feel you may be experiencing any foundation problems that need repair, call today for a consultation. A licensed professional will come out and evaluate your issues so we can get you the foundation repair that’s right for you. Don’t risk further damage to your property by ignoring the problem. Call today.