At Foundation Repair Houston, we’ve been providing top quality home foundation inspections for a while. And one of the most reoccurring questions that we always seem to encounter is homeowners asking how to know when to call us. While it’s recommended that you call for an inspection every few years to stay ahead of foundation problems, there are ways to know when you may have problems. Unfortunately, homeowners who may not know better may wind up wasting a fortune trying to correct the symptoms and not the root cause.
Do I Have Foundation Problems?
The tried and true way to prevent foundation problems is having us perform a foundation inspection. Our team is among the best in local Houston, Texas, inspection and repairs, finding and handling any issues you may have. However, if you haven’t contacted us yet, then you may be missing early red flags.
Call immediately if you have noticed any of the following possible symptoms:
·Interior Wall Cracks ·Exterior Wall Cracks ·Sagging Doorways ·Tough/Sticking Doors ·Sloping Floors ·Wet Spots/Pooling Water ·Increased Humidity ·Odd/Off Smells ·Mold Growth ·Spongy Yard/Soil ·And other things that just seem out of place.
Unfortunately, many homeowners mistake these types of problems, and instead, they call drywall repair, painting, and even landscaping services. This, of course, doesn’t solve anything, and only wastes time and money. Diagnosing your foundation problems correctly requires us to use the best in inspection techniques and equipment. Whether your home utilizes a pier and beam foundation or a concrete slab, we know how to get to the ‘bottom’ of your problems.
Why Hire an Inspector?
The obvious question many homeowners ask is why have an inspection at all? In fact, anyone can see a crack, so why not do it yourself?
The problem isn’t with finding the cracks, but adequately diagnosing them, a professional foundation inspection is recommended. Because our team also offers repairs, we may even see problems inspector-only services may be aware of.In fact, even the best foundations will have some cracks. Any type of poured concrete surface develops small cracks here and there, but most are benign.
Finding the root cause of foundation cracks, as well as cracks appearing inside the home, is where we come in. By adequately reading what your foundation cracks are doing, we can help prevent significant repair costs down the road.
How Invasive Are Foundation Inspections?
Because much of what causes foundations to crack, shift, or even split is an external cause, it’s rare that we would need to burrow into any surfaces. Our inspection process is mostly, if not wholly, non-invasive.Sometimes an inspection requires the use of the camera to be used behind walls or underneath floors. However, this requires a minimal hole to be created, which we do patch after we’ve finished.
The primary things a foundation inspection would look for is the causes of cracks, especially around doorways, changes in what a “normal” amount of floor slope should be, or any water puddles forming.