A home is not just a shelter that provides a warm place for your family to go home to. It is also an investment. It is meant to stay for as long as it should so when your kids have gone and made their own homes, you will still have a home of your own.

You have to schedule regular maintenance and immediately fix any damage and problems that present themselves. You should also take special measures to ensure that your home’s Foundation is in good shape.

The foundation is a very important part of the house and damage to it may become more costly if left alone for a long period of time. Foundation settlement issues are brought about by weak soil conditions and this could be why you may need foundation repair services too.

So what are the signs that your home’s foundation is in need of repair? Here are some of the signs that you should look for:

1. Cracks in your wall

There might be numerous reasons why there are visible cracks in your indoor or outside walls. One of the reasons might be the high humidity in your area of residence. Water leakage to the Wall can also be a reason for the cracks in the wall.

If the reasons mentioned above are not applicable in your situation, meaning you do not live in a highly humid area or there are no water leakage from your roof, then a possible reason for the cracks is that your foundation is in need of repair.

The cracks in your wall can be the result of your foundation shifting. It can be due to foundation upheaval or foundation settling. If you see the cracks in your wall becoming wider as time passes, you have to have it repaired as soon as possible.

Not taking any action to fix it may result in more damages to your home.

2. Gaps between walls and the ceiling and floor

There can be multiple reasons why your wall will start to have gaps between the floor and ceiling. First, it can be a result of the bowing of the walls. It can also be due to the shifting of the foundation that can result in cracks in the corners where the floor meets the wall.

That is why it is important to be aware of the damages to your house. These minute details could actually be a sign of a bigger problem like foundation damage.

3. Doors do not fit as they used to

Are your doors getting more difficult to close these days? Is it tighter than usual? The reason behind the ill-fitted doors may be due to the door jamb being misaligned.

The misalignment of the door jamb can be due to the walls of the house bowing. The bowing of the walls may come as a result of unfixed wall cracks brought upon by a shaky foundation.

4. Water leakage in the basement

Water leakage or the presence of moisture in the basement can be due to the cracks that develop in the basement wall. The cracks may come as a result of the soil expanding when it becomes wet. The expansion pushes the wall inwards due to the pressure.

The soil will contract once again once it becomes dry. It may also shift due to natural causes and add pressure to the walls of the basement. The continued pushing pressure from the expansion and shifting of the soil can slowly weaken the concrete and create cracks where the moisture or water can enter.

You will find out if there is moisture or water leakage in your basement because you will find sagging floorboards, molds and musty scent in the air upon doing maintenance checkups.

5. Uneven and cracks on the floor

Uneven floor and the presence of cracks on the floor could be a result of upheaval or settling. Both occurrences can cause your flooring to become uneven and develop cracks.

Upheaval is when a slab of the foundation is raised from its original position due to the expansion of the soil. Settling is the opposite of upheaval. The soil contracts leaving no support for the foundation resulting in the foundation to sink to the soil.

If left unattended and unfixed, more damage would come and you may be left with a home that is unsafe to live in.

6. Windows are sticking out or cracking

If your window and/or window jamb is starting to stick out or the glass or if the jalousie starts to crack on its own, then your window is probably already affected by the bowing of your house’s wall.

As mentioned earlier, when you don’t fix the cracks on your wall that resulted from problems in the foundation, more damage will be done and your windows could become collateral.

As the walls bow or start to curve from the cracks and the uneven pressure, the windows will be affected. Its effects will include cracks on the glasses used in the window and your windows sticking out from the wall.

7. Bugs are invading your homes

Sure, it is normal to have a few bugs in your home. However, when you start to notice that there are more bugs than usual and they have started to invade your home, then you should start finding the reason for the uptick in population.

One of the possible reason bugs could be overtaking your house is that they now have more points of entry. Newfound cracks on the floor, walls and other corners of the house are possible entry points of different bugs.

No matter how hard you try by spraying and using other types of insecticide, they may still be flourishing in your house since they can freely enter. So to prevent them from entering your house, it is important to fix cracks as soon as you spot them and most importantly, fix the foundation problem.

Conclusion

Early detection of a foundation problem will lessen the cost of repair. However, if you just let the signs of a foundation problem go unfixed, then it will really be costly to fix it. You might even have to abandon your home due to unfixable damage.

The signs mentioned above like cracks and gaps on the wall and floor, problematic doors and windows, could be a warning that there is a bigger problem. Don’t wait before it's too late to get things fixed. Call a professional and ask for a consultation as soon as you see the signs.