Whether you plan to live in your home for the long haul or plan to sell it at some stage in the future, you need to make sure that your house is structurally sound. The same criteria apply to those of you on the market for a new house. But this article focuses on the above-mentioned issue of ensuring that your foundations are structurally solid and that the entire house is resultantly safe for occupation.
While it is subdivided into these two themes, safety, and structure, it also recommends that you take full advantage of online guides such as Foundation Repair DFW, which can guide you on how to carry out your inspections. This can help ensure that your future work is cast in stone when it meets and exceeds the safety and structural criteria.
Ensuring That Your Home Is Safe And Secure
How often you carry out this well-recommended risk management exercise is entirely up to you. Of course, it will be counterproductive to spend every weekend doing this, looking for something extra to do. It truly depends on how old the house is. You kill two birds with one stone by checking your windows and doors for telltale signs of possible foundational shifts or damage.
This is particularly the case if you haven’t got the advantage of a truly failsafe burglar alarm system with a backup armed response. It has also been advised that burglar bars are no longer sensible in the event of fires.
Repair Tips
- DIY painting over the cracks: If the damage is minimal, particularly if there is evidence of water leakage, concrete waterproofing paint will suffice. To take care of cosmetics, you can then coat the affected surface with your preferred enamel. In this day and age, it is also recommended that you source sustainable and organic weather-beating materials that are devoid of damaging chemicals.
- Dealing with water leakage: Particularly if your old house is exposed to heavy rainfall, water leakage is possible due to weakening foundations over time. But if the damage is minimal, at least you can nip the leakage in the bud. While fiberglass batts can be used, it is recommended that a plastering exercise over those cracks now susceptible to leaks be carried out. Plastering should be carried out with masonry-grade cement, sand, and water. One of the most common factors behind basement leaks is a crack in the foundation wall, otherwise known as your basement’s outer wall. Typically, these cracks develop over time when water builds up along your basement’s foundation and presses against the foundation wall. This pressure is called “hydrostatic pressure” and causes concrete foundations to become rigid over time.
Foundation Repair
Make your home safe and structurally sound through foundation repair. When the core structure is damaged, foundation repair is needed. The most common cause of foundation damage is water. When moisture is present, the soil will shrink or swell. Also, damage may occur due to inadequate drainage.
Plumbing leaks or damages caused by floods, droughts, and earthquakes can lead to foundation damage. Also, soil with a high clay content damages the foundation. Hiring a professional from a reputable company.
- Slabjacking: It’s a cost-effective foundation repair method that uses specialized technology—slabjacking repairs by lifting the concrete slab, which is lifted by pumping it with polyurethane foam.
- Steel Piering: It involves driving many steel pipe pilings to correct the foundation settlement. Steel piercing uses a hydraulic lifting system and steel piers, lifting the foundation and correcting its elevation to make it stable.
- High-Density Polyurethane Foam: It’s a simple process of repairing slabs that inject foam into the affected area’s checkerboard grid.
Crawlspace Repair
Water can sit in your crawl space for months or even years. Standing water can damage your house’s foundation, causing rotting wooden beams and joists.
Working under your crawlspace can present many safety hazards. So, it is important to wear breathing protection when working in your home. Dust, black mold, asbestos, and dried feces are just some of the crawlspace contaminants. Also, make sure to wear heavy gloves, heavy pants, long-sleeved shirts, and knee pads. There are many sharp objects in the crawlspace, like utility knife blades, nails, metals, and glass.
Here are the steps when repairing the crawlspace:
- Protect the floors with kraft contractor’s paper or plastic
- Identify the water source (standing, signs of discoloration, or puddling groundwater)
- Remove the vapor barrier
- Dig the trench and fill it with gravel
- Spread the soil
- Install a sump pump and a discharge pipe
- Lay the new vapor barrier
Install The Ventilation In The Exterior Wall
- Calling in the experts The older your house, the more likely there may be risks. Whether you can see visible signs or not is beside the point. The best practice where household risk management is concerned is to schedule a qualified and accredited Incode Well Respected Structural Engineer to carry out a full evaluation or inspection of your house.
In the context of this article, the object of the exercise was always to make your home as safe and structurally sound as possible, no matter what the age of your home. Invariably, the older your home, the higher the risk and the increased likelihood that there may be damage. Good risk management entails detecting the risks as early as possible, which could alleviate the need to contact the above-recommended professional engineer and contain your home’s costs.
