Everything needs a solid foundation, from relationships to businesses- but especially buildings. Your home is no exception. Any type of foundation, whether it be a concrete slab, pier and beam, or a crawlspace, needs to be properly maintained in order for it to last. Every so often, your basement foundation may even need more extensive repairs. It can sometimes be difficult to tell whether your basement needs repair or whether it’s simply settling.
Here are a few signs that you need a basement foundation repair in Lansing, and what to do if you notice any of these signs in your own home.
Types of Foundations
There are a few different types of foundations, not all of which include a basement. The type of foundation you have will depend largely on your geographical location. The most common types of foundations are:
- Basement foundations. The floor and walls of a basement foundation are typically made of poured concrete. The type of basement can vary as well- “full basements” are entirely underground, while “daylight basements” have windows that allow in natural light.
- Crawlspace foundations. A crawlspace has walls like a basement does, but it does not have a floor. Instead, the foundation sits on piers to support it.
- Pier-and-beam foundations. This type of foundation is commonly used for houses on sandy soil or houses which sit on a hill.
Signs of a House Foundation Problem
In order to tell whether you need a basement foundation repair in Lansing, you’ll first need to be able to tell whether your foundation is weakened or damaged. Luckily, there are a few signs you can look out for.
First, check the walls and ceiling throughout your home. Look for any cracks that are large enough to fit a dime through. Cracks smaller than this can often be sealed up rather than having to repair the entire foundation. Pay attention to the direction of the cracks as well. Horizontal and vertical cracks are usually not a sign of immediate concern, though you should call a foundation repair company to take a look at them at your earliest convenience. Diagonal cracks, on the other hand, typically point to your foundation becoming uneven. One side of the house may be settling down into the dirt at a faster rate than the other.
Test the doors and windows as you check the walls, making sure that none are sticking. A little bit of sticking is normal as the seasons change, especially in older houses, but it shouldn’t be practically impossible to open doors and windows.
Finally, as you check the basement, keep an eye out for water damage or condensation marks on the floor near the walls or on the walls themselves. Foundation cracks often let groundwater seep in.
Why Invest in Basement Foundation Repair in Lansing?
When you find damage to your basement foundation, it may not seem severe at first. After all, your house is not crumbling yet- so it can wait a while, right?
Keep Your Home Dry
Water damage is a major inconvenience at best and health risk at worst. Not only can flooding further destabilize your house, but it can also destroy or severely damage your belongings and leave mold behind. Mold begins to grow within 24-48 hours of initial water damage. This means that if there’s a crack in your foundation letting groundwater through and you don’t realize it until later, mold could be growing and spreading for months on end.
Keep Bugs Out
Nobody wants bugs running around their house, especially not of the many-legged variety. Cracks in the walls of your basement foundation can allow creatures such as silverfish, centipedes, spiders, millipedes, and more to come crawling into your home.
Safety and Stability
The most important reason to invest in basement foundation repair in Lansing is to preserve the safety and stability of your home. Everything needs a solid foundation in order to be successful, especially buildings. A weak or damaged foundation will eventually become unable to support the building, which would no longer provide a safe environment in which to live.
Foundation Problems Won’t Fix Themselves
The sooner you fix a foundation problem, the better. Once a foundation starts to weaken, it will only get worse as time goes on. Eventually, if the problem gets bad enough, the home will be too far gone to fix. At that point, it may be very difficult to sell.
Save Money in the Long Run
The worse the foundation problem gets, the more expensive it will be to repair. Waiting too long to fix your foundation creates additional problems that may require more expensive solutions. Severe foundation damage may require repair via a process called piering, which involves digging around your house and inserting steel piers underneath the foundation to support it. Since piering is so invasive, it runs at a higher price point than slab jacking, which can be used to fix more minor foundation problems.
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