Your foundation is one of the most important parts of your home, and one of the most expensive to fix. Catching issues early can be thousands of dollars in difference, and prevent additional damage, as foundational problems lead to other issues. Here are our top four signs that your foundation needs inspection (and possibly a professional opinion).

Cracks in the Walls

If you give both the interior and exterior of your house a good inspection and notice any cracks in the walls, this could be due to the foundation. If you have brick walls and notice stair step cracks (steps that zig zag up the brick and look like stairs/steps) this is a major indication that your foundation is weak or settling.

Bowing, Bulging, or Uneven Walls

Sometimes, a wall will start to bulge in the middle. This is often accompanied by stair step cracks, or a horizontal crack going across the bulge/bowing part. It may be more difficult to notice, but occasionally the wall will separate from either the ceiling or the floor as well. The entire wall will start slanting, meaning the bottom or the top of the wall is starting to push into the house. If you suspect this is happening, take a level and test to see if the wall is vertical or starting to angle.

Gutter Issues

If your gutters are full, damaged, or working improperly for any reason, they will likely cause a large amount of water to collect around the base of the house. This will damage your foundation. This is why having clean, functioning gutters is so important to the overall prosperity of your foundation, and the home as a whole. Of course you cannot always prevent water from getting to the foundation, but the gutters are meant to redirect most of it to a place that is safer, and allow for minimal water contact to the foundation.

Mold Growth

If you’re having gutter issues, you may end up finding some mold in your home as a result. Particularly in basements, you may notice a musty smell. While this is a common smell in basements, cracks in the walls and floor can exponentially increase the smell and harbor mold. If you discover any mold in the basement and find its source to be any kind of crack in a wall, you may have a problem with your foundation. If a crack is allowing enough moisture in that you can have mold, it is a major concern.

Ideally this information has helped you to identify if your foundation is in good shape! Please contact us if you have any questions. We’re available 24/7 to help!

For any questions or comments, please feel free to email us at jwest@newlookroofs.com, we hope you have a great day and thanks for reading! 

- Julian