Stand Firm
- September, 2016
- Chris Buchanan, Professional Inspector
The cost to maintain your home’s foundation is small and doesn’t take a lot of time, but making it apart of your homes routine maintenance can save you thousands of dollars! Any of of the things listed below can cause the soil to have different moisture content, which will damage your foundation.
Don’t ignore minor cracks in your home! Write down where you found the cracks, and measure them, If the cracks are getting longer or are continuing to widen it may be time inspect your home and foundation.
Keep a few inches of your foundation visible above the soil and grass. This prevents water and wood destroying insects, such as ants and termites from penetrating the outer walls and destroying your home's wall and floor structure.
Maintain a constant level of moisture for the soil around your house. When it rains, the soil swells; when it’s dry, the soils shrinks, and this puts stress on the foundation of your home. In addition to routine watering of your perimeter make sure your yard is correctly sloped so that water is directed away from your foundation. Look for standing water near the foundation wall or slab, drainage swales are simple and inexpensive foundation maintenance option.
Gutters with functional downspout are important! They direct water during a heavy rain away from your home.
Do not to plant new shrubs or trees within 2 feet of the foundation. Planting too close to the foundation can cause movement leading to foundation problems.
Be sure to water the trees around your home in in the summer season a large trees can absorb up to 150 gallons of water!
Check for water leaks inside and around your home.