What are the signs of a bad foundation? An obvious sign of a bad foundation is large cracks in the foundation itself. Small ones less than a ¼ of an inch thick are probably not anything to worry about. Doors and windows are stuck, jammed, or don’t close and latch properly. This may be due to the house shifting on top of a bad foundation. Watch for cracks in the walls and floor. Pay particular attention to over windows or doorways and where the walls meet the ceiling.

An engineer may ask for certain testing to be done on things like soil, helical piers or push pier bearing capacities. We have learned not to rush engineers. Soil samples sometimes take up to 3 weeks to come back from the lab if they are requested by the engineer. We know that our customers are eager to have the solution installed but we also want to provide the best, most accurate and well-thought-out solution for your foundation repair based upon all of the information available.

At first, a minuscule crack in the wall or the slight buckling of the foundation might not seem like an immediate problem for your home. Minor issues are often overlooked and neglected—until the problem becomes much larger and compromises the overall stability of your home. The best defense against escalating expenses is to scan for potential signs of foundation damage and address these issues as soon as they appear. Many of these signs often manifest in other parts of the home, usually several levels above the underlying foundation.

With a crawl space the foundation might be made of pier and beam construction. With pier and beam there are two types of materials that could be compromised – the piers commonly made from concrete and the wood beams. Check out all of the components of both materials to determine if the concrete is crumbling or the wood is decayed. Cracks around your concrete foundation could be a first sign of needing repairs. However, keep in mind that every foundation will settle a little bit because that’s just what they do. So try not to freak out if you do see a crack. The first step is to figure out why it showed up in the first place. Read extra info at Foundation contractor Colorado.