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10 Critical Signs You Might Have Foundation Issues

Experiencing Foundation Issues?

There are a lot of household problems that can be swept under the rug for “future you”. One set of problems that you don’t want to ignore, however, is foundation issues.

Foundation issues can ruin a house if left untreated, and they need to be addressed sooner rather than later. It’s best to identify them as soon as possible to save yourself a headache and a lot of money in the future.

Your home depends on the strength of your foundation. It supports the entire structure of your house, because it’s all connected. If there’s any weakness in the foundation, the damage will work its way up.

If you’re worried that you might be dealing with foundation issues now, or you want to be prepared for the future, don’t worry. Read on to learn about ten critical signs that you might be experiencing foundation issues in your home.

For professional help with foundation problems in the greater Hampton Roads, VA / NC region, learn more about BAY Crawl Space & Foundation Repair at our Home PageAbout Us Page, or Request A Quote Page.

Guaranteed Solutions for Foundation Problems

What Are Signs of Foundation Issues?

1. Cracked Drywall

If you have some walls with some diagonal cracks creeping up, you might be in trouble.

While a vertical crack might be normal, if you find yourself spotting more cracks form over time, it might be time to look into the foundation of your home.

Your floors are supported from the foundation upward, so if a crack has formed in the living space, then something is moving below. This is a clear sign that the foundation is not stable.

2. Gaps Between Exterior Windows and Walls

A shifting foundation can pull your walls away from your windows and doors.

This will likely happen very slowly, but it’s incredibly harmful over time. As the foundation pulls the walls away, the gaps can create room for moisture or bugs to get in. This can create more problems for the structure of the house.

If you notice this happening, call someone immediately to check out your foundation.  A foundation stabilizer can help solve the problem.

3. You Notice a “Sinking” Feeling

If you’ve realized that one side of your building is lower than the other, or that your foundation appears to be “settling,” this is a problem.

Even a tiny dip that starts as only a few centimeters can grow to inches over time, so this is an issue that needs to be addressed quickly.

4. Counters, Cabinets, or Other Static Structures Separating From the Wall

If you notice that things that were once attached firmly to the wall now have small gaps in between them, look into the foundation.

If the floors and walls are no longer level in your home, this causes the things attached to the floors and walls to detach or crack in response. Even if you don’t notice the de-leveling, you can notice the detaching.

5. Cracked or Leaning Chimney

Excessive moisture or an unbalanced or unleveled foundation can lead to a chimney being cracked or broken, even completely crooked! Is it leaning? If it is, it could be a sign that your foundation is failing.

One of the best ways to tell if your chimney is leaning is by looking at its placement along the side of your home. If you notice space between the exterior of your house and the chimney, it is leaning.

A leaning chimney happens when your foundation sinks, raises, or shifts. Like with many other types of foundation issues, a leaning chimney can lead to water damage and mold if not fixed.

While this might not be something you recognize immediately if you start seeing other small signs, look to your chimney for confirmation.

6. Cracks in the Walls or Floor

Not all cracks are a cause for concern. Cracks happen in paint, or even in heavier materials. Hairline cracks can be easily fixed and are often cosmetic.

There are dangerous cracks though. If they’re horizontal or at a 45-degree angle, if they’re more than an eighth of an inch wide, or if they’re wider at one end than the other, it’s important to get them checked out.

These can be indicative of structural or foundational damage and can lead to larger cracks down the line if they’re not taken care of quickly.

7. Nails Popping Out of Drywall

Again, while this happening from time to time, or minimally, is totally okay, if it’s excessive you should look into it.

If you have a nail come out of the wall, it should be no big deal. Just hammer the nail back into the wall.

If all your nails are popping out of the wall, that is a sign of a problem. When the drywall in your home shifts, nails may move and come out of the wall. If you notice this happening, check for cracks on the inside and outside of your home.

8. Warped Floors or Ceilings

If your ceilings or floors sag down or warp up, it can show that your house is settling or your building is compressing. Beam issues happen when the foundation sinks, rises, shifts, or rots.

This is a bad sign of foundation issues, and it needs to be addressed. It’s more obvious in floors. While sometimes floors are built slightly off-level, if you notice a change, take note.

With concrete foundations, you may notice that your floor is uneven if the home has shifted. Whether you have a beam foundation or a concrete foundation, you will want to fix the damage immediately.

Uneven floors may seem like no big deal at first, but over time they can become dangerous. If children or elderly people are living in the home, they are more likely to trip on an uneven floor.

9. Musty Basement Smells

If your basement smells particularly musty or unpleasant, you might have a mildew problem.

Mildew happens because of moisture that’s getting in through tiny cracks in the foundation. Unfortunately, this means foundation problems.

Having too much moisture in your crawl space leads to beam rotting. If the foundation beams rot, you will have bigger and more expensive problems. Rotting beams often attract termites that get into the rest of your home.

Even if it doesn’t seem like your beams are rotting, you still should stop the moisture immediately. Moisture in homes leads to mold and mildew. Mold can cause skin irritation, sneezing, runny nose, and create a bad smell if not taken care of.

10. Unusual Walls

If your walls are doing things that they’re not supposed to be doing, it might be time to call in an expert. This can include a few things.

If they’re bowing in, this can be similar to the sagging floors and ceilings. There’s some compression happening and it needs to be adjusted before the problem gets worse.

Your walls can also begin pulling away from the house. If that happens, you run the risk of the whole thing coming down. To avoid this, call someone in immediately, don’t wait for more signs.

Spot Signs of Foundation Problems Before It’s Too Late

One of the best ways to prevent serious foundation problems is to try and spot them early. That’s why regular inspections and maintenance are essential. They will help you catch any minor foundation issues before they become major problems.

Of course, it’s important to know what to look for, so here are a few tips.

Use a Level and Check for Mold

Using a level to check for sloping or uneven floors is an excellent way to spot early signs of foundation issues. You should also keep an eye out for cracks in the walls or floors, doors, and windows that stick or don’t close properly. Check for water damage or mold growth as well.

Check the Drainage

Preventing foundation issues from happening in the first place is always preferable to dealing with repairs later on, so check your drainage. Proper drainage around your home can prevent water from seeping into the soil around the foundation and causing moisture problems.

Inspect Trees and Vegetation

Tree and vegetation management is vital, as the roots can push against your foundation and cause it to shift.

Check Gutters and Downspouts

Keeping your gutters clear and making sure the downspouts are properly directed away from your home can help prevent water damage.

Additional Signs of Foundation Issues

Cracks in the Tile

If you have tiles in your bathroom, kitchen, or any other part of your home, check to see if they are cracked. When tile floors are uneven or sink, the tiles may crack because they are fragile.

If you notice that tiles are cracking, have a foundation contractor access the situation. If you don’t fix the problem, you will need foundation repairs and tile repairs.

Doors Out of Alignment

Have you noticed that your doors are out of alignment? Are you having a difficult time opening and closing them? If so, foundation problems could be to blame.  When your home’s foundation shifts, the doors may shift with it. If one side of the door is slightly higher than the other side, they will stick and you will have a hard time opening them.

While foundation problems are most like the cause of doors being out of alignment, the problem also could stem from high humidity.  If you live in an area with high humidity and it has been raining for the past couple of days, wait until the rain stops to see if you still have the problem.

If the doors are still difficult to open, you should watch for other signs of foundation problems and have an expert check the doors.

Windows Don’t Work Properly

Like the doors, foundation damage affects the windows in a significant way. The movements in the foundation that lead to the changes in the position of walls may lead to windows leaving spaces beneath or above them when they lock. Always observe the ways your windows fit into the frames to know if there is any problem with cracks.

It is easier to notice changes in the way windows lock that doors. If they are always becoming loose when they lock, the frame is being forced to expand. There may also be cracks on the sides of the frames because the walls are moving.

Likewise, you may wake up one day and notice that your windows won’t lock or open even when the locks are not engaged. It is an effect of movements in the walls too. It would be best if you called an expert to check the foundation when you notice such situations.

Water Stagnates Near The Foundation

Have you noticed water stagnating and pooling around the foundation? This should worry you because it shows that your structure is experiencing a lot of damage. If the water used to flow freely even when it rains heavily, you have to check the foundation to make sure that nothing has changed.

Sometimes, foundations get destroyed, and this leaves a lot of depressions around them. They may also sink inwards and make the drainage systems less effective. When this happens, water will always stagnate around them, causing an unpleasant view in your home.

Even after water restoration, this water will keep pooling around these areas until the landscape is restored. You may notice that in some cases, the stagnating water causes even more damage to the foundation as it tends to drain into it.

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Foundation Upheaval

The movement of slab foundation in the upward direction is termed as foundation upheaval. This is a key indicator of a problem with the structure of the foundation. Generally, foundation upheaval is caused due to the accumulation of excess moisture in the soil beneath it.

Heavy rains, broken pipes and lack of proper drainage provisioning results in the soil getting wet and heavy forcing the foundation upwards. Frost heave is another key factor that causes a considerable shift in the foundation. When water freezes it increases in volume by 9% putting adding pressure on the foundation which can result in the formation of cracks.

Keep Your Home Safe and Sound

Foundation problems can cause serious and costly issues for homeowners, but they can be prevented with regular maintenance and inspections. Knowing the first signs that you might have foundation problems and taking steps to prevent them can save you time and money in the long run.

If you think you’ve got foundation problems, don’t wait. Call the experts at BAY today and book a free inspection and quote at 757-460-0444.

How To Fix Foundation Issues?

If you’ve experienced one or several of these signs of foundation issues, it might be time to reach out to a professional for help.

Even if you’re unsure, it doesn’t hurt to get a professional opinion from someone who’s seen this before. If you need an expert, contact us for help. We can assess your home & stop future damages before it’s too late.

Why Choose BAY to Fix Your Foundation Issues?

BAY Crawl Space & Foundation Repair is your one-stop solution to fix foundation issues in Norfolk, Virginia, Suffolk,  Newport News and the surrounding regions in VA & NC. Our expert teams have over 400 collective years of experience fixing homes in the Hampton Roads, Virginia & North Carolina service area.

Our staff includes engineering experts, foundation repair specialists, and a full support team ready to deliver exceptional customer service and a fast turnaround of your home foundation project. This is why BAY Crawl Space can offer a full warranty on installation and materials for your repair.

You can fix foundation issues today by taking advantage of our free crawl space and foundation inspection. This will identify any structural issues, foundation issues, or issues in the crawl space. Our expert advisors will then consult with the homeowner on their options to repair sagging, sloping, or uneven floors.

Full-Service Foundation Repair

At BAY Crawl Space and Foundation Repair, we offer all the services you need to protect your home from foundation damage while preventing mold and water damage. Learn more about the services we offer.

Foundation Crack Repair

Foundation cracks can be a severe problem leading to further damage if left untreated. These cracks can also allow water and pests to enter your home. Our team can repair any cracks in your foundation and ensure your structure is secure.

Foundation Jacks and Stabilizers

If your foundation is sinking or settling, we can install foundation jacks and stabilizers to provide the support it needs to remain stable. At BAY Crawl Space and Foundation Repair, we use innovative foundation jack systems to safely and permanently lift your home.

Basement & Crawl Space Repair

A damaged basement or crawl space can cause a host of problems, from mold and mildew to structural and water damage. Our team can repair any damage and ensure that your basement or crawl space is stable.

Crawl Space & Basement Waterproofing

If you’re experiencing water damage or moisture problems in your basement or crawl space, we can install a moisture control system to keep water out. This can include a sump pump system, vapor barrier, crawl space encapsulation, and more.

Mold Remediation

The water around your foundation can lead to both foundation damage and mold. We offer mold inspections, remediation, and cleanup to protect your home’s air quality and prevent respiratory illness.

Why Request a Free Foundation Inspection?

If you are a homeowner, it’s always a good idea to have your foundation inspected occasionally, even if you don’t notice any problems yet. At BAY Crawl Space and Foundation Repair, we proudly offer our clients FREE foundation inspections so they can protect their homes. See why a foundation inspection can be a smart choice.

Identify Any Issues Before They Get Worse

A free foundation inspection can help you find any issues with your home’s foundation, crawl space, or basement before they become more severe. Catching problems early can save you money on repair costs.

Reduce the Risk of Future Issues

Identifying and fixing problems early can reduce the risk of future issues. This can help protect your home’s structural integrity and ensure that it remains in good condition for years.

Create a Proactive Foundation Maintenance Plan

While you can’t plan for natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods, you can help prevent soil settling due to poor drainage or damage from tree roots. We can help ensure your foundation is well-maintained and fortified against the most common causes of foundation damage.

Save Money on Repair Costs

Repairing foundation, crawl space, or basement issues can be expensive. By catching problems early, you can save money on repair costs and avoid more significant issues that can be even more costly.

Protect Your Home from Structural Failure

A damaged foundation, crawl space, or basement can lead to structural failure in your home. By requesting a free foundation inspection, you can help to protect your home from this type of damage and ensure that it remains safe and structurally sound.

BAY Crawl Space & Foundation Repair Mini-BIO

BAY is an award-winning crawl space and foundation repair contractor. We’re proud to service an 80-mile radius around our Norfolk, VA headquarters, Monday to Friday, from 7 am to 5 pm, at 757-460-0444.

BAY is best known for having amazing reviews (quality & quantity), superior expertise, special methods, and affordable pricing options. We have the ‘Best of the Best’ on our team. Our All-Star Team delivers great customer experiences and the best quality for a great price.

Our reputation in the Hampton Roads community with homeowners, engineers, city permitting offices, home services professionals, and online as a crawl space foundation repair home service contractor is outstanding.

#1 Rated Locally for Foundation Repair

Our reviews show our commitment to taking great care of our customers over the years.  We pride ourselves on giving great customer experiences & delivering excellent value. Our experience & efficiency allow us to do more, for less.

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A Better Understanding of Your Home’s Foundation Can Ensure a Dry, Healthy, and Comfortable Living Space for Years to Come

Building a new home is full of excitement and anticipation. But it can be unfamiliar and overwhelming to homeowners, requiring a wide-ranging understanding of what it takes to build a home: the steps, the product selection, the scheduling, and more.

The good news for homeowners is that any experienced homebuilder will walk with you through the design and construction process.

Recently, homeowners are looking to better understand and be more involved in the construction of their new home, regardless of whether they are working with a large national or local custom builder. The prospective homeowner is better connected and has greater access to digital information than ever before. After all, building a new home will be one of the biggest investments of their lives; better knowledge of what goes into the construction of their new home can go a long way in providing peace of mind, pride of ownership, and useful familiarity for the long-term care of the home.

Although there are many components in the design and construction of a new home, the first side – its foundation– is a critical part of not just the home’s structural integrity, but also its performance, comfort, indoor air quality, ownership costs, and durability.

The foundation may not be as exciting as picking countertops or appliances, but it serves more than just supporting the load of the entire structure. Since the foundation sits on or below the soil, it also serves an important role in isolating the home from moisture, pests, and soil gases.

The bottom line: a good foundation starts with its structural strength, but its design should keep your home dry, healthy, and comfortable.

Unlike many other parts of a new home, we often only get one chance to do the foundation right, so here are some useful questions to discuss with your homebuilder about your home’s foundation to address these many key considerations.

#1 What type of foundation will I have for my home?  

Generally, in North America, a new home will have one of three foundation types (or occasionally some combination):

  • Slab-on-Grade
  • Crawl Space
  • Basement

Although home design, intended use, and budget all play a role, the primary factors determining the type of foundation your home will have include: where you live and the climate, as well as your local soil and moisture conditions.

For example, the depth of the frost (or freeze) line is often an important component in foundation design. The frost line is the depth in the ground where water in the soil is expected to freeze during cold times of the year. Freeze and thaw cycles lead to expansion and contraction of soil, which can cause shifting, cracking, and other structural concerns in the foundation. Thus, code requires footings to be located below the frost line.

In addition to local code information, a geotechnical report will provide useful soil data for the engineers you or the builder are working with to help make appropriate design decisions for your home’s foundation.

Generally, the frost line goes deeper in the ground as you move into colder climates. In warmer southern U.S. states, it doesn’t take much digging to go below the frost line. It’s much more common to find slabs-on-grade in these states, where the concrete floor slab and footings are cast near the surface of the existing earth and support the home. Slabs-on-grade usually have the lowest up-front cost, but don’t offer any storage or flexibility.

On the other hand, as we move north in the U.S., slabs-on-grade become less viable, as frost lines move lower. You’re more likely to see crawl spaces or basements as you often need to dig further to start the home’s foundation.

Crawl spaces are exactly what they sound like: an enclosed gap between the exposed ground and home’s floor that allows someone to access without standing up. Crawl spaces have shorter (think 2 to 4’) perimeter foundation walls and interior piers to support the home. Crawl spaces can allow room to locate HVAC and other utility equipment, but problems can begin to arise when the outside environment is not closed off from crawl spaces.

As the frost line deepens in even colder climates, basements become more practical and desirable. This is where the foundation wall goes further down in the ground (usually 7 or 8’) to create a usable level of the home. The extra space of a basement is a key benefit but going deeper in the ground with your foundation does mean careful attention to things like moisture management -- the first key considerations after a foundation’s strength.

#2 How will my home be protected from liquid water?

Regardless of foundation type, keeping liquid water out of your home is arguably the first step in effective long-term performance, comfort, and health of your new home. Water infiltration can cause potential structural concerns, mold growth, and damage to building components.

Liquid water can come from many sources, either below or around your foundation, depending on your local conditions: bulk water pressure from a fluctuating water table, capillary action, rain or snow runoff, and landscaping, just to name a few. Your builder should be able to help explain the design steps or products they are using to help impede, divert, and/or expel liquid water away from your home.

Capillary breaks, for example, may simply be a layer of compacted crushed rock that open free space below your slab-on-grade to stop the upward movement of liquid water against gravity, which is caused by adhesion or cohesion in some soils.

For below-grade foundation walls in basements or crawl spaces, passive approaches to the exterior, like waterproofing membranes, damp proofing, drainage mats, and footing drains, are ways to impede and convey water away.

Every area has minimum building code requirements but ask your builder to explain the solutions they rely on for effective liquid water protection. As a homeowner, keep in mind proper grading around the home and how to avoid introducing unwanted water over time, like from landscaping.

In areas where sub-soil bulk liquid water is more of concern, builders may use a sump pump. This connects to a collection drain installed beneath a basement floor slab or in a crawl space, expelling liquid water that has collected under and around the foundation. If you have ever had a sump pump in your home, you know they require more active attention and maintenance from a homeowner over time.

 

#3 How will my home be protected from soil vapor?

No matter the location nor the foundation type you have, vapors have the potential to migrate into the home’s envelope from below. Water vapor always moves from a greater concentration (the water table) to a lesser concentration (your conditioned home envelope) via a process called diffusion.

This natural vapor drive -- if left unchecked -- can lead to a host of moisture-induced issues in a home, including floor covering and coating failures, mold growth and poor indoor air quality (IAQ), and inefficiency of your HVAC system, which works by removing moisture from the air.

Many prospective homeowners (and even some homebuilders) don’t realize the key distinction between the behavior of water vapor and liquid water. Protecting against water vapor diffusion is entirely different from the steps above, which deal with liquid water. Things like capillary breaks will not do anything to stop the diffusion of water vapor. And in basements and slab-on-grade homes, most people don’t consider that concrete itself, although seemingly dense and dry, is not vaporproof.

Because of this, you will want to ask your homebuilder how they plan to stop the diffusion of water vapor beneath your home.

The most common and effective solution is the use of a water vapor barrier (or retarder) beneath the home’s concrete slab or used to cover the exposed earth in a crawl space. These membranes are engineered plastic sheets that come in rolls with system accessories for effective and efficient installations. 

To meet industry requirements and best practices today, not just any plastic can serve as an effective water vapor barrier or retarder. Below-slab and crawl space vapor barriers perform far better than generic, low-quality, 6-mil poly sheeting (often called Visqueen) to provide necessary levels of vapor protection, strength, and longevity.

Additionally, many homes may also be built on soil with dangerous gases like radon. Soil gases, like water vapor, typically move from higher to lower concentrations and can migrate into the home’s living space through the foundation.

To protect new homes from radon, permeable layers and venting systems are typically used with an effective vapor barrier to not only impede soil gas movement but expel it away from the home. Find out from your builder if your local codes or engineering report notes any concerns with soil gases, and if a mitigation system will be used.

*Note: some areas of the country also need to design their foundations with subterranean termites in mind. There are physical vapor barrier systems that perform as a water vapor barrier but are also engineered to block termites.

 

#4 What about comfort and efficiency?

New homeowners will probably think about the comfort and efficiency of their home as a top-down equation: solar panels, air conditioning, and insulation get a lot of attention in this realm. But maximizing the comfort and efficiency of your home, however, is really a bottom-up process.

When we locate foundations below-grade, we have colder temperatures to contend with. No one wants to spend time in an uncomfortably cold basement or walk on chilly or drafty floors. This also increases the load on a home’s HVAC system to maintain comfortable interior temperatures.

Foundation insulation, installed at construction, can play an important role in the comfort and efficiency of the home. Although not required in all climate zones, it can have benefits in all areas and with all foundation types. It will help maintain comfortable temperatures and help keep concrete foundation elements warmer. 

Making sure your home is well air-sealed is also a key contributor to its efficiency. For crawl spaces and basements with foundation walls, proper air sealing at the wall to framing intersection and at rim joists can have a big impact.

Your builder should be able to discuss insulation strategies and options based on your foundation type and climate, and how they plan to air seal at the home’s foundation.

 

#5

What products do you use? 

Product choices can make a significant difference in new home construction. What is used at the home’s foundation is particularly crucial for long-term performance, since this is a part of your home that you:

1) can’t replace easily and

2) won’t want to deal with costly problems in the future.

Your builder will have some tried-and-true foundation systems and products they use. Ask them to show them to you and explain how they plan to use them. You might also ask them what types of warranties come with the products they use, or even if they have a home buyer warranty package that includes the home’s foundation. 
There is a wealth of information out there about building materials and their performance. Depending on how you and your builder are collaborating on your new home build, don’t be shy about bringing product and system choices to the table.

The construction of the foundation is an exciting milestone in a new home build. We hope this article helps give you a better understanding of the foundation of your home and spurs useful discussion with your builder to help contribute to peace of mind that your home will be dry, healthy, and comfortable for years to come.

 


10 Critical Signs You Might Have Foundation Issues

5 Questions You MUST Ask Your Homebuilder About Your Foundation

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