You’ve spent several thousand dollars building your Raleigh, NC, home, and you’d be happy to move into a trouble-free and comfortable home. But sometimes, nature and other factors conspire against us.
Perhaps the construction team was sloppy in their work or used substandard materials on your foundation. Within a few years of moving in, you realize the foundation walls are cracking and water is seeping into your basement.
Mistakes were made, but there’s no point in agonizing over the poor structural support or backfilling. Contact your local foundation repair contractor in Raleigh, NC, to correct the problems before they cause serious foundational damage.
Why Does the Foundation Sink in Summer?
Heat is the reason most foundations sink in summer. Excess heat means the soil gives up its water through evaporation. When the moisture level goes down, the soil becomes less dense and ultimately shrinks. The foundation will pull away from your home’s footing and settle, causing damage to the walls and floors above.
How to Tell the Foundation is Settling
Look no further than these four signs:
Foundation Wall Cracks
Cracks will appear on your foundation walls. When they do, it’s an indication something is happening beneath your home. Vertical cracks will pop up and widen as the foundation continues to settle. Parts of the wall may tilt and pull apart as well. Cracks that appear wider at the top than the bottom need to be fixed quickly.
Cracking Drywall
Don’t ignore the jagged cracks on your drywall, as they’re potential signs of foundation shift. Cracks are likely to appear in high-stress areas like windows or corners. Slanting floors and burst pipes are other tale-tell signs of settlement.
Tilting Chimneys
Standalone chimneys will start leaning to their sides. And the rate of tilting depends on the chimney’s weight. Ask your foundation repair contractor to investigate and fix the root issue.
Sticking Doors and Windows
If you start noticing doors and windows sticking a lot lately, your house is slowly shifting. Cracks may also appear right above your doors and windows. Gaps around doors and windows as well as buckling tiles are other signs that foundation repair is due.
Preventing Foundational Damage and Issues
Summer will likely take a toll on your foundation, as this is the time the soil dries and shrinks. Make sure you water the soil around your foundation. A lawn sprinkler can be a time-saver.
Another thing you can do is install rock beds two inches all around your foundation. What this bed does is moisten the soil. Keeping the soil moist also prevents settling, a common problem during hot summers.
Foundation Repair Solutions
A sinking foundation doesn’t have to mean the end of your home. If your home’s foundation is shifting or settling, your contractor may apply the following solutions to prevent settlement and restore floors.
Foundation piers. Pier systems including helical piers, push piers, and slab piers are commonly used to stabilize and restore foundations following settlement. More like legs, they enhance the loadbearing capacity of structures that have sunk due to unstable or weak soils.
The IntelliJack™. Made from galvanized steel, IntelliJack™ is your answer to bouncy or uneven floors. This solution helps level girders and floor joists in the basement or crawl space, ultimately stabilizing your floors and correcting problems arising due to weak soils.
IntelliBrace™. Perhaps the best I-beam in the foundation repair industry, the IntelliBrace™ straightens and stabilizes bowing walls. The good thing about them is they’re corrosion-free and result in a clean-cut appearance.
Carbon fiber system. Moisture and frost can gang up and trigger wall cracks along the foundation. The carbon fiber straps help you stabilize your cracking walls. They are 10 times stronger than steel. Best of all, they contour tightly against the wall for ultimate coverage and wall adhesion.
Get in touch with Tar Heel Basement Systems for a free foundation repair inspection and quote. Our experts will examine the condition of your foundation and recommend an appropriate solution. We have the tools, expertise, and experience to resolve any underlying issues and prevent future foundation damage.
