Identifying House Foundation Problems

Foundation problems may mean expensive repairs. Unfortunately, foundation repairs to do not fix themselves, but the earlier the detection and attention, the easier — and less expensive — it is to fix them.

The Basic Indoor Warning Signs

Houses settle over time, and a little unevenness isn’t cause for panic. You’ll want to be alert to these warning signs that more dramatic changes are taking place:

1. A door begins to get stuck or stubborn to open and close and fail to latch.

2. Cracks appear in dry wall, especially over doorways, windows or where walls meet ceilings.

3. Cracks open in vinyl or ceramic tile over a concrete floor.

4. Windows that used to open and close easily suddenly begin to stick.

Check the Outside

Moving outside, check to see if your foundation is straight by sighting down the length of your foundation wall from each corner. The walls should be basically straight, both up and down and from side to side. Check for leaning walls with a level.

A bulge or curve in either a block foundation or a poured concrete wall could signal that the foundation has shifted, or that the soil around your foundation may be expanding and contracting, putting pressure on walls.

Probe Concrete for Weakness

If your house has a poured perimeter foundation and the concrete appears to be chipping and flaking, poke it in a few places with a sturdy screwdriver. The concrete should be so hard that you can’t damage it.

If you manage to chip it or break a piece off, the concrete could be deteriorating because the mix contained dirty or salty sand, or too much water. This problem, common in homes built in the early 1900s in some parts of the country, has no remedy short of a new foundation.

Checking Structural Components

Foundation systems have other members besides the perimeter foundation wall. In your basement or crawl space, look for posts and concrete supports, or piers. Posts should stand straight and be firmly planted underneath the beams they support. Bottoms of posts should rest firmly on concrete piers.

You shouldn’t find puddles or see framing that’s wet. Check for rot by probing wood posts with a screwdriver or awl.

Puddles and other signs of moisture in a crawl space may indicate poor drainage around the perimeter foundation. Be sure that gutters aren’t plugged, and that soil slopes away from the foundation at the rate of 6 inches for every 10 horizontal feet.

KC Pier - Foundation Experts provide foundation repair and basement waterproofing in Kansas City and the surrounding metro area. KC Pier specializes in pier installation to correct foundation settlement, waterproofing leaking basements, straightening or stabilizing bowing walls and correcting poor drainage, foundation piers, wall piering and ibeam support solutions.

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