Foundation Repair-Save Your Home - By: Brown Dave

Your foundation is, quite literally, the building block upon which your house stands. Foundation problems can seriously compromise the integrity of not only your basement, but of your whole house. As such, if you are experiencing problems with the concrete footers or the foundation of your home, foundation repair should be a top priority.

Do You Need Foundation Repair?

When your basement foundation is compromised, the walls of your basement may be unable to successfully support the weight of your home. The walls may begin to crack and bow as a result of foundation problems or damage and, if the problem is bad enough, your entire basement walls can collapse. This can create a major safety concern for you and your family members and you should try to take steps to deal with problems well before your foundation is damaged badly enough to crumble.

Causes of Damaged Foundations

There are a number of possible reasons why your foundation may get into a state that it needs repair. Some common problems that can damage the integrity of your foundation include:

• Water pressure from outside the walls. This is the most common cause of cracked or bowing basement walls. This problem arises when the soil surrounding your basement becomes too saturated with water. The soil starts to get heavier and heavier and, since your basement concrete footers are underground, the soil begins to build up pressure against the side of your walls. Whether this happens because of rain, melting snow or other problems, the pressure against your walls can begin to cause the walls to bow or bend. Typically, the first signs that this problem is occurring will be large cracks in your concrete walls. If you fail to act to correct the problem, the cracks will grow larger and larger, and the wall will begin to bend and break.

• The growth of tree roots into your foundation walls. Again, this can cause pressure that leads to cracking, bowing, bending and breaking.

• Construction along the outside walls that is not properly supported. If the footings of an addition or new construction on your home are not as deep as the main concrete footings that make up your foundation, this can also cause your foundation walls to crack and break.

• Heavy construction equipment putting pressure on the walls. When heavy equipment is used too near to your home, the equipment may either put pressure on the walls itself or may cause the earth to become too compressed and to put too much pressure on your basement walls.

• Pressure from improper backfill material. After your foundation is dug, the holes around the concrete footers should be filled with soil or other suitable material. When backfill such as large rocks is used instead, too much pressure may occur against the basement walls.

Methods of Foundation Repair

No matter what the cause, the key is to react quickly when your foundation becomes compromised. With proper foundation repair methods, you can stop the problem at the first sign of trouble and prevent a minor hassle from becoming a major catastrophe.

About the Author

Find more about Foundation Repair and Crawl Space Repair at StayDryWaterProofing.Com.

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