A1 Foundation Crack Repair Blog

Repairing your home's foundation is one of the most important things to do. There are many reasons that you would want to repair the foundation quickly and ways to get the repairs done. When it comes to your home, you should want it to be it's best at all times. If you are looking for some tips on how to repair the foundation of your home, keep reading. It may surprise you.

The number one tip for repairing the foundation of your home, is make sure that you fix all the cracks, holes or other things that are allowing water to get in. Water can ruin a home in the flash of your eyes. Water can lead to mold and mildew growing on the walls and so much more that can cause health problems. It can also cause major damage to the flooring such as carpet and hardwood.

Another tip and reason for fixing your home is, the foundations condition can affect the status of your home when it comes to getting a home loan and selling the house. If you have cracks and other kinds of problems, they can be seen as a defect and most homeowners will make a purchase until the problems have been fixed.

The longer you wait to fix the foundation, the more of future repair costs. Tip number three. Make sure that you fix the foundation as soon as possible. Not fixing the foundation can cause your home to shift and cause even bigger cracks and messes to fix.

In order to repair the foundation of your home, you are going to need to do things that can include, but are not limited to foundation waterproofing, concrete foundation repair, waterproof the basement walls, crawl space ventilation, replace carpet due to carpet water damage, and insulate the basement. Hiring the professionals at A-1 will be a smart solution to getting your home's foundation in tip top shape. Contact us today to learn more about your home's foundation and how we can put our A-1 method to work for you.

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Determining if you have a foundation problem with your home or other building is determined mostly by using your eyes and just good common sense. If you are starting to see cracks in interior drywall, windows that won't close or open, doors that suddenly seem out of kilter or other abnormal things around the home your foundation may be the culprit.

If you do a little investigative looking, finding problems can be quite easy if they are actually present. Finding a sticky window or door does not mean your foundation is bad. It may be nothing more than humidity, loose hinges or a window that needs a spring adjustment. If you find all of sudden there are a great many items with a problem then it is time to look around. Starting on the buildings exterior, slowly walk the perimeter and take a real good look at the exposed portion of the foundation walls. If you see cracks in the wall, inward or outward bowing, sunken soils against the wall, cracks in the brick face or bowed siding for example, these are all causes for concern. Make a note of the locations and proceed to the inside of the basement.

Using a pencil, draw a line horizontally across the crack and large enough to see easily later on. Keep checking the crack from time to time to see if the pencil mark as moved and the two sides of crack line no longer match up. If the lines are now separated vertically, it indicates that the foundation is moving. If you see a larger crack, bigger than an eighth of an inch wide, this may mean severe movement has occurred. If this is the case then allow us to do a thorough inspection of your home's foundation and use our A-1 method to repair any damage. Contact us today should you have any questions or concerns about your home or commercial building's foundation.

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Controlling water around your home's foundation is important. Water control is the single most important factor in ensuring a dry basement. Water control helps prevent problems, even if your home has a slab foundation or a crawl space foundation. This also accounts for business too. Foundation in a commercial building is the same as any home, and even though there is no basement, securing the outside is important.

Improper water control around your home's foundation causes many problems. Water can damage foundations by exerting pressure on the foundation (hydrostatic pressure). Water can also damage foundations by causing unstable clay soils to exert pressure by swelling or by causing these soils to contract and remove support from under the foundation. Other problems caused by improper water control include damaging construction materials and providing moisture for mold and termites.

Direct foundation damage from water usually involves cracks and/or bulges in foundation walls and footings. This can in turn cause uplift or settling of framing materials that can cause problems such as uneven floors, cracks in interior and exterior wall coverings, and doors and windows that do not operate properly. In extreme cases, water damage can cause structural failure. Indirect water damage includes damage to wood and other construction materials caused by liquid water infiltration and by water vapor that condenses in cool areas such as in basements and in crawl spaces. Many species of termites and all species of mold need moisture to survive. Controlling water around your home will reduce the chance of termite infestation and mold infestation.

Controlling water around your home's foundation is simple and inexpensive compared to repairing foundation damage and wet basements. Examine your water control measures at least every year as part of your regular home maintenance. Doing so will help prevent serious problems. If you are not familiar with checking your home's foundation contact us today and we'll be happy to inspect your home for you to ensure no leaks are present.

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Symptoms of failing foundation walls in a home look different depending whether they are constructed of concrete block or poured concrete. Concrete block walls typically display horizontal cracking across the center length as it begins to bow inward near mid-height. As the problem worsens, stair-step cracking at the corners can be observed. Continued inward pressure exerted on the concrete block wall can also result in horizontal shearing at a mortar joint, where the bottom row of block is held in place by the concrete floor slab as the next course of block and wall above slides in.

Vertical shearing may also be observed when the end of a wall is supported or held in place by an adjoining perpendicular wall. The end of the wall remains stable as the rest of the wall cracks and moves inward. Poured concrete walls will typically display single, diagonal cracks extending upward from the bottom corners of the wall toward the top center. Further, unlike a block wall that bows in near mid-height, the top of a poured wall tends to lean in. In finished basements, where foundation walls may not be exposed, other signs may alert you to a structural problem. As failing basement walls move inward, ceiling panels and ceiling drywall may begin to buckle.

Drywall on finished, abutting walls can also buckle between the wall studs. In extreme cases, horizontal cracking may even be seen in the home's exterior brick veneer. As you can tell, foundation cracks are no mere small problem. They can result in serious damage to your homes structure, which is why its best to have the professionals at A-1 come in and inspect your home and do any foundation repairs you may need. Contact us today for more information.

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Have you ever heard of the old saying “you need to build your home on a rock rather than loose sandy soil?” Well this might not be the case with a building foundation. Smaller cracks aren't going to be as big of a problem as larger ones, but don't forget that smaller foundation cracks can get bigger. If you have small hairline cracks in your building foundation, usually this won't become a problem unless they start to expand and get larger. A good example of a hairline building foundation crack would be to draw a line on a piece of paper with a pen or pencil. A hairline crack isn't going to be any bigger than the width of a regular pencil line.

If the building foundation has structural reinforcing installed within the footings and the building foundation slab itself, these cracks and usually won't get larger. The reinforcement will actually hold these areas together and provide additional strength for the homes foundation.

Now what about larger cracks in your foundation, could these be a problem? Well if the cracks are large then you need to get those fixed a.s.a.p. However if the cracks are a bit smaller and you are worried about them increasing over time a handy trick you can do is take a picture of the crack and then regularly take pictures of these cracks annually to make sure that they're not getting larger.

Foundation cracks are common in home construction and to give you a brief summary, if the foundation cracks are small, you might not have a problem, but if they're big, wider than a quarter of an inch, you could have a problem. Cracks that are wider than a half-inch could mean serious problems. The best bet is to just secure and fix all cracks and our proven A-1 method has never failed. Should you need foundation repair or even need us to evaluate the cracks or leaks in your home contact us today and we’ll be happy to help.

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Hurricane season is upon us and we certainly will get our share of heavy rain and tropical storms over the next month or so.  Do you remember the heavy rains in March and April of this year (2010)?  Unfortunately many of us experienced flooded basements.  At A-1 Foundation Crack Repair we are always busy with repairing basement cracks and leaks but a lot of people wait until their basement is flooded before they decide to take action.  At that point, the costs associated with all of the damage (rugs, carpets, walls, goods, etc)  is very high.  With Hurricane season upon now is a good time to get your basement and your foundation inspected for cracks and leaks.  Let us help you save money in the long run by getting a basement inspection today.

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