Every home is built on foundations that keep it rooted to the ground and provide stability. Poorly made foundations will lead to a host of serious issues that cost a fortune to fix and can make your home unsafe. Over time, your foundations may move a bit and weaken, leading to further damage throughout your property. You need to identify when this is starting to happen so you can fix the foundations and keep your house stable. If you spot any of these three signs in your house, then you need to bring in some foundation experts to sort things out.
Sagging Floors
One of the most noticeable signs of foundation damage is when your floors start to become uneven. Perhaps you start tripping or stumbling slightly over what seems like a dip or lump in your hallway. Or, maybe you notice that a room looks like it slopes more to one side than the other.
This happens when the foundation starts to shift or sink, causing your floors to sag or look uneven. It’s something a foundation repair company can fix fairly easily, but you should avoid leaving things as they are – especially if your home isn’t brand new. New-build properties are going to experience foundation shifting as the house “settles”, so uneven floors usually even themselves out with time. But if your home is a good few years old – or the floors never evened back out – then you’ve got a foundation issue that needs to be fixed.
Severe Cracks Outside Your Home
Issues with your foundation tend to manifest in the form of external cracks before you notice anything else. Now, some minor cracks here and there are all normal, especially if they’re hairline cracks or they seem quite even. Again, it’s extra common in newer homes as the foundation settles – you can usually patch these minor cracks up with no problems at all.
The worrying sign is when the cracks look really deep, have a stair-step style, and appear in concrete paths close to your home and exterior brickwork. This usually means you’ve got a deeper foundational issue that needs to be addressed before you patch up any cracks.
Stuck Doors & Windows
Have you noticed that several doors or windows around your house no longer move as smoothly as they once did? Doors keep getting stuck at the frames when you try to close them, and windows feel like they’re jamming as you try to open them. You may even notice gaps around your windows that weren’t there before.
All of this is a sign that the foundations are having a tough time. Something has happened that’s forced your home to shift in some way, and this means doorframes and window fixtures have dropped down a bit, which is why everything feels stuck. Rather than calling in people to try and fix or re-fit your windows, get the foundation specialists in to assess the situation and deal with the cause. Then you can re-fit things without the fear that the problem will persist.
Foundation issues cause all sorts of structural issues in your home, and they’re not to be taken lightly. As mentioned, you can expect some slight movement in a brand-new home, but if your house doesn’t settle and you keep seeing issues, then you’ve got a foundation problem that needs to be looked at ASAP.
