How to know you have foundation issues with your Home

Your home is your castle. You've invested a lot of money and effort into it and you wouldn't want anything drastic to happen to it. A major problem that can rise up are foundation issues with your home.

Knowing and understanding early warning signs of your foundation issues can end up saving you tens of thousands of dollars. Fixing foundation issues with your home can be very costly, so the sooner you tackle them, the better.

Here are some signs to look for. This isn't a cause for panic, but could be a good reason to call your contractor to assess the situation:

  1. Cracks in your walls, especially where walls meet the ceilings and over doorways
  2. Windows that won't close or stick too tightly together
  3. Doors fail to latch on or begin to get jammed
  4. Cracks in ceramic tiles on a concrete floor

A place to start is naturally outside where you can check to make sure the foundation is straight, both up and down and side to side. You can tell a leaning wall if you've seen one.

If you notice a curve in the foundation could be a signal that the foundation has just shifted or the soil around your home can be causing pressure on your walls.

Do a probe check on the outside to check if you have foundation issues with your home. Meaning if you poke your outer walls in a few places, it shouldn't flake or crack. If you do manage to crack a bit off the side of your house, it might be a sign of deteriorating concrete and should be addressed immediately.

The problem with homes built in the early 1900s is that some get a buildup of dirty and sand or too much water and can cause the foundation to crack.

For more structural foundation issues with your home, take a look at your crawl space or basement to make sure all the support beams are straight and firmly planted. The bottoms of the support posts should be resting on concrete piers as well.

You can also check for rotting wood or framing that's become wet and if there are puddles or areas that are wet, this could be a result of poor drainage.

The total costs for fixing your foundation correctly can run as low as re-pinning the concrete piers, at $1,500 per post up to $40,000 for redoing your entire foundation.

As always, contact your local contractor to assess the damage, or non-damage to the foundation of your home so you can rest assured that no further issues arise.