Why It’s Important to Maintain Your Home Foundation
Your home’s foundation is the most crucial part of your home. It serves as the base for all other structures and fixtures built on top of it. When homeowners maintain their home’s foundation it helps ensure the structural integrity, prevent damage, and helps your home retain its value over time. Having your home’s foundation in the back burner can lead to expensive repairs if not properly taken care of. Depending on the extent of the damage, repair bills can quickly add up. That’s why it is important to take a proactive approach. In this blog, we will discuss strategies how to maintain your home foundation and avoid unnecessary expenses and stress.
1. Water Management and Your Foundation
One of the maintenance factors you should consider is water management like soaker hoses. What does this actually mean? When a home has periods of excess moisture and dry soil, it can cause issues around your home. To help prevent issues from arising, inspect your gutters and downspouts. See if they are directing water correctly away from the base of your home and not clogged or puddling. When home’s experience flooding it can lead to expanding soil which might cause cracks or even severe shifting. This problem is even worse in cities like Fort Worth and Texas. The soil here expands when introduced to moisture. This paired with the dry periods, the soil surrounding your home can contract, creating voids that stress the foundation. An DIY option is to water the soil around your home during these periods to help maintain its draining properties and it helps reduce the risk of foundation moving.
2. Managing Water Soaking Plants Near Your Home
Vegetation can play an essential role in the condition of your foundation. Trees, flowers, or shrubs help the ascetics of your home by providing shade, beauty, and pleasant smells. But their root systems can wreak havoc on your home’s base. It may not be for the reasons you may think. A common misconception is that large roots can lift and shift foundations themselves. It is actually that the root systems dry out soil near your foundation. To prevent this from happening, adjust the amount of water a plant is receiving if it’s near your home or you could plant them a good distance away from your home. If a full grown tree has grown near your home, it may be time to contact a professional to see if it is possible to remove the root systems that are too close to your home.
3. Look For Signs Of Distress In Your Home
Another way you can maintain your home’s foundation is by periodically inspecting for damage. After a few years homes may develop small cracks or uneven floors because of natural settling. Or one the factors we spoke about earlier may have caused the shift. It is crucial that you regularly inspect both the exterior and interior of your home to look for any cracks, sticking windows, or doors used to close properly that don’t anymore. If you notice any of these issues contact Maestro’s foundation repair promptly. Catching foundation issues early can help prevent minor problems from escalating into major structural damage. Smaller problems are often easier to manage and are more cost effective to deal with.
4. Proper Soil Grading
The level of your soil is often overlooked. If the soil grading around your home is slope towards your home or flat it could trap water and possibly cause flooding if you have a basement. You want your home’s soil to be slightly declining further away as you move away from your home. While you are inspecting your home every 6 months you should consider inspecting and tweaking the grading of your home. It can reduce water related problems and ensure that your home is protected for years to come.
5. Maintaining Crawl Spaces
Finally, proper maintenance of structural elements of your home’s foundation need to be done. For example your crawl space. A crawl space is the space between a pier and beam foundation and ground. The home sits on an elevated surface on top of the piers of the foundation. It is important to keep these areas clean, dry, and ventilated to prevent mold, rust, or wood rot. Oftentimes those can weaken the materials your home is built with. Inspect the vapor barriers in crawl spaces to ensure that unwanted water does not affect your foundation. While you are inspecting your home, look for signs of bugs like termites. Not only can they eat the walls of your home, but they could ruin the beams on which your home is supported by. If you detect this reach out to a pest control specialist in your area to manage the issue.
Maestro’s Foundation Repair
Maintaining your home’s foundation will be your responsibility for as long as you plan to stay in your home. The effort to look after it is well worth it, as you can often save yourself time and a headache by catching some of these signs early. By managing water effectively, monitoring the vegetation, looking out for signs of damage, and ensuring proper drainage, you can protect yourself from costly repairs. If you’re ever in doubt about your foundation’s condition, don’t hesitate to seek professional guidance. Feel free to reach out to our team at Maestro’s Foundation Repair.
