What are the signs of a bad foundation? An obvious sign of a bad foundation is large cracks in the foundation itself. Small ones less than a ¼ of an inch thick are probably not anything to worry about. Doors and windows are stuck, jammed, or don’t close and latch properly. This may be due to the house shifting on top of a bad foundation. Watch for cracks in the walls and floor. Pay particular attention to over windows or doorways and where the walls meet the ceiling.
We figured out a long time ago that if we put too much information on the website or sent out books about the work that we do, people would begin to try to self-diagnose their basement problems. Quite often the customer was trying to design solutions that were much too large for the problems that they were experiencing and had scared themselves of the cost before we even showed up to the appointment. So rather than provide a WebMD of foundation repair, we decided to simply tell you how we operate as a business and hope to engage you in a real conversation about the exact problems you’re experiencing. Once you know all of the information we expect you will make a great decision as to how to repair your home.
At first, a minuscule crack in the wall or the slight buckling of the foundation might not seem like an immediate problem for your home. Minor issues are often overlooked and neglected—until the problem becomes much larger and compromises the overall stability of your home. The best defense against escalating expenses is to scan for potential signs of foundation damage and address these issues as soon as they appear. Many of these signs often manifest in other parts of the home, usually several levels above the underlying foundation.
If you have a broken water pipe, a plugged gutter, or a drainage problem in your yard alongside a perimeter foundation to weaken the area, a contractor might be able to shore up the area with more concrete or shim the sill plate to make the area level again.
Our in-home appointments begin with an initial inspection. Our foundation inspectors will use a variety of instruments to help determine any foundation problems or structural issues. Once we understand your unique issue we take you around the house and help you understand what is happening in your home.
We are foundation repair and basement waterproofing innovators in the Colorado Springs, Denver and Pueblo areas. We are led by partners who each have multiple years of experience either designing foundation repair solutions or installing those solutions. We are fully licensed and insured. The founding partners of Foundation Professionals of Colorado recognized a need for a foundation repair contractor in our community that provides straight and honest answers and leaves the buying decision in the hands of the customer where it belongs. As a foundation repair company, we seek to educate and consult our customers on all repair methods and let you decide how to proceed with your repairs. Read extra details on Foundation contractor Colorado.
Searching for a foundation contractor in Colorado? Typically, a company that is focused on their customer service will provide the best service and take care of their customers needs. You can tell a lot about a company by how their staff treats you from the initial phone call. Was the person that answered the phone courteous and professional? If you filled out an online request, did they respond promptly? When the technician came to do the assessment, were they polite, professional and did they explain everything entirely? These are just a few things to evaluate. When a company is focused on the customer, they are in business to serve their customers and will provide a great experience.
If your house is brand new those cracks are probably nothing much to worry about but do your homeowner due diligence and keep your eye on them over time. If they change in size or shape, or you see new ones, that’s a different story. Those cracks should be addressed quicker. Older homes can have foundations created from just about any material including stacked stones with mortar joints. I had one of these homes in the northeast U.S. and the foundation was in need of a bit of love; it and the house were over 150 years old. It’s easy to show age at 150! The foundation had a small leak in the older mortar and the water caused a slight bow; this happened long before I bought the home. One of the easiest ways to fix that was by doing basement foundation waterproofing. A waterproofing paint was applied to the whole wall from the inside. As I mentioned, the French drain was also installed in the yard to pull water away from the foundation. I made sure to complete these fixes as soon as I noticed the problem. The wall didn’t seem to move or leak again after I learned how to make those repairs to save my stone foundation.
