Winter is here! Warm fireplaces, holiday gatherings, and beautiful decorations are what the winter season brings; however, it can also bring foundational damage to your home. The last thing you want on your mind is if your home is safe during the holiday season.
When the weather becomes colder, the air becomes drier. This dry air causes the water and moisture in the soil around your home to disappear. When that soil doesn’t have moisture or water in it anymore, it begins to shrink, ultimately causing settlement for your foundation.
The type of your home you have depends on what kind of foundational problem signs you will see within your home.
-Slab foundation home types show signs in your home’s floors and interior walls. Cracks will form in the floors of your home, and as the settlement grows, those cracks will begin to grow and become dangerous for your family. Your interior walls will also show signs of cracking, along with pulling apart from one another, and separating from your ceiling. Just as your floors, when the settlement gets worse, so will your cracks.
-Homes that have basements will see signs of foundation settlement in their doors and windows, and their interior and exterior walls. Doors and windows will begin to stick to their frames, making it hard for household members to open and close them. Outside and inside your home, cracks will appear in a stair step pattern up through your walls. Once again, as the settlement worsens, so will those cracks.
Dry air is not the only problem that the winter season brings for your home, but snow and frost bring problems as well. Once the dry air has shrunk your soil causing cracks and open spaces, the melting snow and frost will be able to enter these cracks straight to your foundation and home. Water and moisture damage in your home’s basement or crawl space can cause more problems for your home.
Winter brings much joy and happiness, but much stress as the holidays approach. One thing you do not want to stress about is the structural integrity of your home as your family is celebrating the holidays inside it. Call Tar Heel Basement Systems today at 00000000 or click here to fill out a form to schedule a free foundation inspection today. We want your home safe and your holidays to be stress free!
