How to Prevent Structural Cracks in Your Foundation

Structural cracks are a big concern. When you first purchase your home, it’s usually a time of joyful exhilaration, marking the beginning of a new chapter in your life. As time passes, you begin to discover the hidden stresses and worries of home ownership. Maintaining your home can be challenging; like most things, it all starts with a solid foundation.  

Your home’s foundation is a critical part of its stability, preventing it from shifting unevenly. When shifting occurs, it can form cracks that can allow water and pests to get in and damage your home. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to prevent the shifting of your home and the cracks it can cause. We’ll explore these options below, and help you identify when to call for foundation repair or basement waterproofing.

Understanding The Underlying Causes Of Structural Cracks

Considering it supports your entire home, it’s no surprise it experiences immense stress. It doesn’t stop with the sheer weight of your home; weather fluctuations throughout the year also impact your foundation. This is just one factor that can impact your home’s stability and lead to structural cracks forming.

Structural Cracks From Shifting Soil

Unless your home rests on bedrock, your foundation rests on and within the soil. Soil is made up of countless tiny particles and materials that can include plants and other organic materials. These materials and the spaces between them can also absorb significant water. These materials can shift and the amount of water in the soil can change with the weather and temperature. This can impact the stability of your foundation, causing it to shift.

Expansive clay soils are of particular concern. These soils are very reactive to changing water levels, composition, and character. When high amounts of water are present, the clay expands and becomes thick and sticky. It can shrink significantly, become hard, and deeply cracked when it dries up. These expansive clay soils can change in volume by up to 10% and are a serious concern for basements. As time goes on, the growth and shrinking of these soils can cause your basement walls to bend and crack.

Water Damage and Poor Drainage

While water is necessary in our lives for health and comfort, but it can be a real menace to our homes. If not properly managed, water can be a significant risk to our health and the structure of our homes.  It can wash away the soil around our homes, erode our foundations, and create instability that leads to shifting and cracking. To prevent this, check the following things around your home.

• Gutters and Downspouts: When the rains come, our gutters and downspouts save us from damage. Gutters catch the rain from our roof and direct them to downspouts that take it away.  Be sure that these elements of your home are in good working order.  Further, add a concrete pad at the bottom of your downspout to take the impact of the water and help direct it away from your home.
• Grading: Water follows the shape of the surface on which it flows, always seeking the lowest possible point.  Ensuring that the land around your home slopes downward is essential to directing water away from your home. If this isn’t done, the water pools around the base of your home and seeps into the ground. It can cause soil erosion, leak through basement walls, and damage your foundation.
• Basement And Foundation Seals: When your home was built, the walls and floor of the basement and your foundation would have been sealed. These sealants keep water out and help protect your structure from becoming damaged.

Trouble With Tree Roots and Vegetation

Another potential source of trouble for your home and foundation is vegetation. While tree roots are common, even simple grass can cause problems. Plant roots are particularly good at finding small spaces, such as cracks, within foundations and working their way inward.  As the plant grows, so do its roots, causing a slow wedging action that can cause lasting damage.  For this reason, it’s important to maintain your landscape meticulously to prevent damage.

• Move Trees – If you have trees growing close to the walls of your home, consider having them moved. Professional tree movers can move the tree without killing it, allowing you to preserve it and protect your home. It’s the only way to prevent tree roots from damaging your foundation.
• Put Down Barriers – While this is largely ineffective against trees, barriers can be effective against other plants. These barriers are special fabric or plastic sheets laid vertically against your home’s sides. These sheets are typically 6-8” deep and are a barrier against roots in plants with shallow root systems.
• Keep Vegetation Away – On the other hand, the best way to avoid trouble with vegetation is simply not to have it next to your home. You can lay down protective sheeting designed to kill the plants and keep an attractive rock bed near your home. These provide a clean appearance and require minimal maintenance while not harming your home’s foundation.
  

Is It Time For You To Call The Professionals?

Knowing how to prevent structural damage from happening is just the beginning. It’s essential that you recognize the signs when they start happening in your home. These signs immediately indicate that you must contact foundation repair or basement sealing professionals.

• Unidentified Foul Odors
• Pest Infestations
• Windows fogging up
• Signs of water damage
• Unusually cool basements
• Water pooling up or leaking

If you encounter any of these signs, pick up the phone and give The Foundation Experts a call today! Our team will come out and inspect your home to determine the extent of the structural damage. We’ll assemble a plan and estimate to address your concerns and schedule a date to solve them. With us on the job, you can set your mind at ease knowing your home will be protected.