Let’s dive into several tips for maintaining your home’s foundation so that it will continue to support your home for decades to come.
The foundation of your home is literally the part that holds everything else up. Without a strong foundation, everything will eventually tumble down. But when it comes to something so integral to your home’s safety, it is surprisingly easy to forget that it also needs care and maintenance. Let’s dive into several tips for maintaining your home’s foundation so that it will continue to support your home for decades to come.
Inspections Are A Must
Inspecting your foundation needs to be a big part of your yearly maintenance routine. Ideally, this inspection of the various parts of your house (the foundation, the yard, your fence, the roof, the chimney, etc) should happen at minimum twice a year. Good times are right after we come out of the harsh weather of winter, and as we enter fall and prepare for another winter. Again, this is the minimum – ideally you should be inspecting your home each quarter or season.
Know What To Look For
When you’re checking your foundation, you’re looking for several different signs of trouble that could point to or result in foundation problems. The biggest and most obvious are going to be cracks. If you’re seeing new or worsening cracks, that is a sign of something shifting. You might also notice cracks not just in the foundation itself but in nearby (or above) walls, floors, and ceilings. This sort of shifting can also cause windows and doors to not shut correctly. Other signs that could point to problems include changes in the landscaping grade around the house (make a point to check during a rain storm to see where the water runs).
Know What To Do
When you start to notice signs of something amiss with your foundation, that is when you need to seek a professional evaluation. They may come out and tell you it’s not a huge deal and that you can put off fixing it for a bit. But sometimes catching things early is the difference between an insurmountable bill and a reasonable one – it pays to catch things early. If your foundation repair specialist does say you need work done, the winter or spring is typically the best time to do it – but if it can’t wait, don’t put it off.
Stay On Top Of Maintenance
Once you’ve fixed potential problems, stay on top of the surrounding maintenance tasks. This means you need to be checking your landscaping and hardscaping drainage so extra water always runs away from the foundation. If you often get water in your basement, look into basement waterproofing. Finally, keep plants and bushed away from the foundation and make sure that gutters are free of debris so that they run clear.
Lanham Construction For All Your Construction Needs
Lanham Construction is an award-winning and dependable construction company dedicated to serving your home or business with whichever construction project you have in mind. Our professional team is eager to serve customers throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. When you pick Lanham, you won’t ever have to worry about the process. We’re here to help every step of the way.