Without a strong foundation, many homes would suffer quickly from weather, soil changes, and damage.
But even with the concrete foundations of today, homes can still experience problems over the course of time.
While foundation settlement is natural, many foundation problems occur because of uneven foundation settlement.
As soil conditions change due to water, freezing, and soil erosion, a foundation may experience uneven settlement as one part of the soil changes more than others.
An Example Scenario of Uneven Foundation Settlement
Imagine a home that has a lateral crack running down one side of its exterior foundation wall. How and why did it show up there?
Concrete is a very strong material—unless there’s a reason, concrete foundations are made to last for a very long time. So what caused the crack?
In the case of this home, it’s because the soil beneath one side of the house foundation has eroded or been displaced, leaving a void for the foundation to settle unevenly.
As that part of the foundation settles faster than the rest, a crack will form as a result of the stress caused to the concrete.
If left unaddressed, this problem can lead to other problems like leaning chimneys and gaps between the floor and walls inside the house.
What Causes Soil Erosion?
Weathering and erosion happens all the time. But in the case of your foundation and its surrounding soil, the common cause of soil erosion is water.
Whenever it rains, the water table rises and saturates the soil beneath and around the foundation.
Over time, as the soil repeatedly gets saturated and dries, it can lead to soil displacement or the soil compacting. This in turn creates empty spaces for the foundation to potentially settle unevenly.
But if water is the common culprit behind this foundation settlement, what can be done? There’s no stopping the rain.
But there are ways to better protect your foundation from water and the effects of soil erosion.
1. Maintain Your Gutters and Downspouts
Your gutters and downspouts are designed to capture and redirect water to a location away from your foundation.
But gutters can become clogged with debris over time and they must be cleaned to ensure that any captured water flows properly.
What’s more, your downspouts should be checked and repaired if ever needed. A damaged downspout can lead to water leaking onto the soil next to your foundation instead of away from it.
To help ensure that water from your gutters stays away from your foundation, consider extending your downspout.
2. Check the Grading of Your Landscaping
The way your surrounding land slopes can also have an effect on how much water reaches the soil around your foundation.
Check the grading of your landscaping to see if any part of the land next to your home is sloping towards the foundation.
Make sure that all the surrounding land is sloping away from the foundation to help guide rainwater away.
3. Trees and Gardens Close to Home
Vegetation that’s close to your home can become detrimental to the health of your foundation, especially for trees and gardens.
Tree roots may seek towards your foundation, especially if water tends to sit against your foundation when it rains. Gardens near your home can also lead to more water in the soil next to your foundation due to run-off from hose water.
Consider relocating any trees or gardens that are next to your home foundation—you can still enjoy the beauty of nature while keeping your foundation safe!
4. Waterproofing
Along with the previously mentioned steps, waterproofing your basement or crawl space can reduce the amount of water that’s left to sit against your foundation and saturate the surrounding soil.
With the use of drainage channels, a waterproofing system can capture and relocate the groundwater to a location safely away from your foundation.
5. Does Your Foundation Require Piering?
If your foundation has already experienced some sinking, it’s important to have your foundation repaired and stabilized to prevent further problems from happening to your foundation or home.
Sinking foundations can be reinforced and stabilized with the help of helical piers.
These are installed beneath your foundation to give it support, going into the ground until they reach more stable earth.
This prevents your foundation from further settlement.
Calling for a Foundation Repair Company
There are a lot of foundation repair contractors out there, but not all are the same.
While you’re doing your research, you’ll want to make sure that the potential company that does foundation repair in South Carolina meets at least these criteria…
- Decades of Experience
- A Strong, Reliable Warranty
- Licensed and Insured
- Lots of Positive Online Reviews
By following this checklist, you can help improve your chances of finding a foundation repair contractor that will treat your home well.
Foundation repair companies with many decades of experience will not only have more knowledge and better techniques, but their longevity means a warranty that you can better rely on when it needs to be honored.
This is especially important if the company claims to offer a lifetime warranty.
Being licensed and insured means that a company meets a certain standard and their services are of good quality.
Then finally, being able to find lots of positive online reviews means that other homeowners can also vouch for the quality of that company.
Keep all this in mind while searching, and you can relax knowing that your home is in good hands!