Our home is our refuge from the world. It keeps us warm, dry, and safe. It protects us and our families. Most of us, when evening falls, walk around our homes locking doors. Perhaps, we make sure the windows are closed and also fastened. We want to protect our loved ones – our valuables. Yet, many of us don’t realize that there is another serious danger lurking: foundation damage.
While the doors and windows are locked tight, there might be another source of concern: foundation problems that often reveal themselves via cracks in walls and floors. Some cracks are more minor, like fissures and splitting near windows, corners, and door frames. These are not serious foundation problems. Instead, these slight cracks are caused by expansion due to the changes in season. Expansion of drywall and its underlying wood can cause hairline cracks. Most homeowners can repair these cracks with spackling paste.
However, some cracks are far more worrisome. They point to serious, often hidden, damage occurring in the foundation of people’s homes. Thus, homeowners need to be aware, inspecting their houses often for signs of these more consequential breaches and deeper cracks. They should walk around their rooms and basements looking for larger cracks on walls and floors, over doorways, where the walls join ceilings, and on vinyl and ceramic over concrete flooring. While they are searching for more major cracks, they also should look for gaps. If gaps are noticed between windows and façades in various places throughout people’s home, the foundation may be shifting. The shifting is causing windows and doors and their façades to pull apart, which allows termites, insects, water, and other contaminants into the home.
People should inspect their houses regularly. Keep an eye on cracks. How large are they? Are they growing? Measure the cracks and keep track of their changes. Take photos. If the cracks enlarge or seem deeper than the paint and drywall, there may be serious foundation problems. At this point, homeowners need to immediately contact the area expert: Rock Foundations. If not, repairing the damaged foundation will only become more difficult and expensive. Rock Foundations will visit the home, inspect it carefully, make the needed repairs, and restore the home’s security. Then, when homeowners turn off that final light at night, they can rest easy knowing that their home is truly a safe haven for their families.
