Summer, Heat & Your Home’s Foundation

Crippling summer weather can have a significant impact on your foundation. As the weather heats up – warmer temperatures, rain, dry soil, and other factors – can cause your foundation to fall apart and fail. Blistering temperatures can dry out the soil that surrounds your foundation and cause issues before you even think to look for them.

This is a particularly common problem for structures built atop clay and other expansive soils. The warmer weather can dry the soil out quickly and make it shrink and pull away from your foundation. As the soil shrinks, your home is losing the necessary support that soil would normally provide and this can result in the formation of small cracks in the foundation. These cracks can then progress, or widen, and further weaken the structural integrity of your home. Overall, this will cause your foundation to shift, and a noticeable slope may appear which is a sign that your home is no longer on level ground.

For foundation repair services near you, contact Carolina Foundation Solutions online or call us at (877) 770-7050 today!

Signs Your Foundation is Faltering

A faltering, shifting, or settling foundation is a homeowner’s nightmare. Not knowing what signs to look for that indicate these issues can turn it into your worst nightmare. There are many signs to look for that can indicate your foundation is shifting or settling. Some are subtle and hard to see, but most are obvious and easily detectable if you know what to look for. Common signs to look for include:

• Cracks within the foundation or interior drywall.
• Cracks in exterior brickwork or moldings
• Doors that are starting to stick
• Tiles in the kitchen or bathroom that are buckling
• Cracks in the sheetrock
• Uneven floors
• Gaps around windows.

Some helpful advice: The direction and size of the cracks matter.

Foundation settlement can produce vertical, horizontal and stair-stepping cracks and the size of these cracks can indicate just how serious the issue is. If you notice a hairline crack the issue is purely aesthetic and should only be monitored in case it worsens. A slightly larger crack (typically the width of a scissor blade) is a worse issue and should be addressed before it progresses any further. The worst-case scenario is if there is a crack about the width of the tip of your finger, this indicates a major foundation shift has occurred or is very close to occurring and should be treated as an emergency situation.

This goes to show that subtle signs can point to more serious problems, and the longer you delay a foundation repair, the more challenging and costly the repair can become.

Tips to Prevent Foundation Problems

It may seem odd to water a concrete foundation, but watering the soil around your home for 15-20 minutes on a hot day can keep the soil wet, thus preventing it from drying out. Watering the soil is an inexpensive solution to a costly problem. When you water, make sure to do it early in the morning or in the early evening when the moisture can sink into the soil rather than evaporating into the air.

You will also want to remove any trees or large bushes near the foundation that can damage the concrete as the roots grow and dig deeper through the soil. Not only can the roots cause damage, but the amount of moisture they consume can also dry out the soil beneath the surface.

You will also want to make sure that your drain pipes are positioned to deposit rainfall away from the structure. If your foundation is not properly waterproofed, too much rain or watering can result in pooling water, wet walls and the growth of mold and mildew.

When to Call the Foundation Repair Professionals

It is advisable to contact a foundation repair specialist as soon as you suspect damage to your foundation. Every day you delay is a day that the damage can spread throughout the foundation. And foundations will continue to sink until they settle upon a patch of soil that can support it again. The deeper it goes, the more unstable the structure will become.

By making the call early, you can limit the damage to one part of the foundation. In most cases, this means faster, less costly repairs are required to permanently correct the problem and prevent it from recurring in the future.

If you have any questions about your home’s foundation in the heat of this summer weather contact Carolina Foundation Solutions at (877) 770-7050 or visit our website bit.ly/Carolina Foundation SolutionsConsult to schedule a FREE inspection today!