Much like doctors provide regular physicals to maintain a healthy body, it requires and expert to ensure the health of your home’s foundation is maintained.
An inspection takes a comprehensive look at everything from floors, windows, doors, and ceilings. You need to ensure you take the necessary steps to prevent foundation damage beforehand so the issue does not get out of hand later. Foundation issues can show signs all throughout the house, here are 9 areas to look for signs of trouble:
1. Sagging Floors
If you notice there are uneven floors in your home, this can indicate problems with the stability of the crawl space. Our foundation maintenance experts can diagnose the appropriate solution for this problem. Other common causes for sagging flows are gutter problems or improper landscape grading.
2. Bowing Walls
Often bowing walls in your home can indicated that there is something is exerting pressure, which typically comes from one of several sources. Sometimes it’s a simple age issue, where the wall will require support or replacement. Other common causes are poor foundation construction or invasive tree roots.
3. Cracks in Drywall
Much like bowing walls, cracks in your drywall can indicate undue pressure. Drywall cracks are often a relatively easy fix, but they can signal that the foundation or frame is under growing pressure. With a foundation inspection, and expert can pinpoint the underlying problem to prevent cracks before they show up.
4. Cracked Concrete Walls
In basement concrete walls, cracks present in three ways: vertically, horizontally, or in a stair-step fashion. Vertical cracks are the least worrying, but all are good reasons to have your home’s foundation inspected immediately. It may simply be concrete shrinkage, or it may indicate deeper foundation problems.
5. Cracks in Slab Floors
This is probably one of the first symptoms a homeowner will notice, even with an untrained eye. If you notice a crack in the slab floors of your home, a professional inspection can find out just how serious the crack is and what exactly is causing it. These can vary widely in length and height, but they all require an expert to ensure they are not more serious and require major foundation repair.
6. Damp Crawl Space
Water can seep through foundation cracks and cause excess moisture in your crawl space. This can become a serious structural issue that a homeowner can remedy with basement waterproofing or crawl space repair. Crawl space encapsulation can also resolve a damp crawl space.
There’s a fix for any problem a foundation inspection may reveal. The biggest threat to your structure and finances is delaying taking action or ignoring it entirely.
Contact Us for a Foundation Inspection
At American Eagle Professional Service, our team of experts provides foundation inspections to ensure the health and safety of your home’s foundation. Contact us today by filling out our online contact form or by calling (410) 263-9682 to schedule an inspection and appointment.
