A1 Foundation Crack Repair Blog

Your foundation is the cornerstone of your home. It is the footing on which the rest of your house sits. When your foundation has problems, so does the rest of your house. Even well-made foundations can develop problems over time from soil settlement, heavy rains, ice, or other ground movement issues. Serious trouble can result from cracking, crumbling, and settling in your foundation. If these problems are not resolved quickly and correctly, foundation failure can create structural instability. Many homeowners who have never experienced water problems in their homes before are experiencing them now after this long hard winter and the recent rain. Contact A1 Foundation Crack Repair if you're concerned about your foundation.

There are many indicators of foundation settling, cracking, and bowing which can crop up both in and out of your home. A few common signs to watch for can include: bowing or leaning foundation walls, cracks in stair masonry, basement leaks or water stains, musty smells, windows and doors that are sticking and/or a leaning chimney.
 
If your home has any of these symptoms, have your house assessed by a professional water proofing and basement crack repair company.  Overtime, your home’s foundation will continue to deteriorate until it is repaired.

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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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This is a common question that your friends at A-1 Foundation Crack Repair field on a recurring basis.  Step cracks are very common occurrence in concrete block walls. A recurring form of home foundation damage is for cracks to originate as horizontal cracks, and over time, begin to step down, or up, along the mortar joints.

Typically, there is a tremendous amount of pressure pushing from the outside, whether it be expansive soil, tree roots or other catalysts. If there is no pressure coming from the exterior, sometimes the wall bearing the load of the house simply cannot handle the weight, and weakens over time.  Make sure to not collocate excessively heavy objects such as safes, major appliances, cinder block, etc.

Unlike horizontal or vertical cracks where the opposing sides of the crack are pulling away from each other, in a step crack your wall is pulling apart from itself in all four directions and needs to be stabilized accordingly. At this point, there is very little structural integrity left in the wall, and it needs to be stabilized as soon as possible. If bowing of the wall has not already occurred, it will most likely begin soon thereafter. 

Of course step cracks threaten commercial property as well.  We specialize in commercial foundation crack repair as well.  

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