3 Questions About Foundation Repair For Homeowners

Have you recently been told that you have a cracked foundation that needs to be repaired? If so, you likely have a few questions about this home repair problem that needs your immediate attention.

Why Did The Foundation Crack?

You are likely wondering why the foundation became damaged in the first place and if there was anything you could do to prevent it. Foundations can crack for a variety of reasons, but they typically crack due to the water table being very high under your home. When the water table rises, it causes the soil under your home to become saturated. When the water level falls, the soil dries out and collapses beneath your home. The soil will then cause the foundation to sink in odd places where cracks form in the foundation. 

What Are Some Options To Repair A Cracked Foundation?

It is possible that you will need to stabilize the foundation of your home to lift the structure and prevent it from sinking. This is done by placing a steel bracket under your foundation and then driving steel beams into the ground until they reach soil that becomes load bearing. The steel beams attach to the bracket and will help keep the foundation stable and prevent it from going lower into the ground. The home can then be jacked up with hydraulic lifts to make the foundation even again. 

Other options may include reinforcing foundation walls, which have cracked from water intrusion and become weak. This type of damage does not require support beams since the soil beneath the home is not sinking and causing the foundation to become damaged. It is likely due to water pressure against those foundation walls due to something as simple as poor drainage. 

How Can You Prevent Foundation Damage? 

While some types of foundation damage are unavoidable, there are some tips that will help prevent water from collecting against a foundation wall and causing it to crumble. You'll need to take steps to divert the water as far away from your home as possible, which may be as simple as using soil grading so that the water flows at an incline away from the house instead of collecting against it. Even things like shrubs near a home can help absorb water with their root system instead of letting it collect in the soil until it evaporates. 

Reach out to a residential foundation repair contractor if you have a damaged foundation.

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