Spring is here! Ready or not, this means shorts weather is here and it’s time to fling open the windows. It will mean trips to the local garden center to pick out bulbs and seeds. And it will mean marking a weekend on the calendar to give the house a good old-fashioned spring cleaning.
So, while you’re vacuuming carpets, scrubbing floors, and squeegeeing window panes, there is one simple—but very important—thing to add to your list: keeping your eye open for SIGNS OF FOUNDATION PROBLEMS.
SIGNS OF FOUNDATION FAILURE
During the course of your spring cleaning, you’ll likely be giving your home a once-over from top to bottom. This is a great time to see if anything seems out of order, indicating something more serious may be going on down below. Many of these signs, especially when they occur in older homes, are mistakenly attributed to a home “settling.” These signs can include:
DON’T PANIC!
All these signs can be attributed to a foundation that has become unstable and is sinking into the soil beneath it. This can happen for several reasons. The soil around and beneath your home may have softened or partially washed away due to heavy rains or other water events. The soil may have shrunk due to drought. Or the soil may have simply been poorly compacted to begin with when your home was constructed. Whatever the reason, your foundation—and the home above it—will likely continue to sink, causing problems throughout the structure.
While this may sound serious—and it is—the good news is, most foundation problems can be fixed permanently. In fact, in many cases a sinking foundation can not only be stabilized but also lifted back to its original position.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND A PROBLEM
Many people simply adapt to these issues because, as mentioned above, they think they’re a normal part of a home aging. Sometimes they’ll ignore them completely because they don’t seem like a serious problem. After all, a wall crack may only grow a few millimeters a year. But there’s an old adage in the foundation repair community that still rings true today: FOUNDATION PROBLEMS DON’T GET BETTER OR LESS EXPENSIVE TO FIX WITH TIME.
So, if you do find one or more of these issues in your home while you’re going about your spring cleaning, make a note of them and schedule an in-depth inspection by a foundation repair expert.
Baird Foundation Repair offers long-lasting solutions centered around fixing and restoring value to a homeowner’s most valuable asset. Financing options are available. Call (361) 317-8151 or visit www.GoBairdGo.com to schedule your free, no-obligation inspection.
