Ask the Foundation Specialists: What to Keep an Eye On

Your foundation is literally the structure upon which the rest of your house rests. It holds up your home, keeping it secure and safe for your whole family. If you’re a new homeowner, and you’re wondering how to keep your house in the best, safest condition possible, it’s a good idea to bookmark a list of what to look out for in regard to your home’s foundation. 

Also, if you’ve been a homeowner for a while or even a new homeowner, your goal is to make sure you’re doing everything you can to take care of any major problemsby creating a comprehensive list that can help you as well. 

PierMagic, the leading Kansas City foundation repair specialists, has been in the business of home foundation repair for over 15 years. Therefore, we know what homeowners should be looking for to determine the safety of their foundation - we’ve seen it all. From cracks above doorways and windows to leaning walls, our team is equipped and experienced to handle all elements of foundation repair.

Here is a comprehensive list of what you should check for when it comes to your foundation, according to our team of foundation specialists near you. 

What Parts of Your Home Should You Check Closely? Your Foundation Specialists Weigh In

There are certain parts of the home that should be inspected more closely than others, based on what we’ve seen in our years of experience doing home foundation repair in Kansas City. 

Where Should I Look? The Basement

This is one of the most important places to start. Although some homeowners only use their basement for storage or laundry, it is important to make a point of regularly checking out the condition of your basement. This is where many foundation problems begin, so it is important to look closely at this part of your home.

What Should I Look For in My Basement?

Cracks in the basement walls or around egress windows or door frames

Walls that lean inward or outward

Water coming up from the floor

Water coming from cracks

Drafts of air coming into the basement

If you are noticing any of these signs, home foundation repair may be needed. Read on for more specifics about each.

• Cracks in the Basement Walls
  Take a look at your foundation’s walls, and look for cracks around egress windows, around door frames - hairline cracks, stair-step cracks (cracks that ascend like a flight of stairs), as well as vertical or horizontal cracks.
  
  
• Tilting or Bowing Walls
  Check to see if walls are bulging, tilting, or bowing either inward or outward. This is surely a sign that a Kansas City foundation repair expert should examine professionally.
  
  
• Water
  Water coming up from the floor, running down the walls, or coming from cracks in the walls can be a sign that a foundation specialist near you should check to determine the cause. 

• Air Drafts
  If you feel drafts of air coming into the basement, it is highly recommended that you call a foundation specialist to determine why outside elements are getting in. If there are drafts, this means that water can get into the basement as well. 

Foundation Specialists Recommend Looking Outside, Too

After you’ve taken a look in the basement, it’s time to walk around the outside of your foundation to see if you can identify any of the following signs.

What Should I Look for Outside of My House?

• Cracks in the exterior of the foundation 
• Soil erosion 
• Large, dry cracks in the soil 
• Cracks in the chimney or other brick features
• A leaning chimney
• Leaks coming from the chimney

Just like in your basement, if you are noticing any of the above signs, it is important to contact a reputable home foundation repair specialist in Kansas City. PierMagic, an experienced, superior home foundation repair company, understands these issues completely and knows how to solve them. Read on to learn more about what each of the signs above mean for your home.

• Cracks In the Exterior of Your Foundation
  Cracks are visible to homeowners both on the inside and the outside of the home. After you’ve checked the basement for cracks in the walls, you can also look outside. Look for both vertical and horizontal cracks, or for any damage to the concrete. Any of these signs will let you know that it is time to call a foundation specialist near you. Skip the googling and worrying, and let an expert tell you what’s normal and what’s not. That way you can have peace of mind and get the expert solution you need, knowing that a professional is on the job.

• Look at the Soil
  Look at the soil around the foundation of your home. Two things you should be looking for in particular are soil erosion as well as dry, cracked soil. If you are noticing either of these signs in the soil, a Kansas City home foundation repair specialist can address the situation fast to ensure that your foundation is protected.  Kansas and Missouri have clay soil, which requires specific knowledge to understand how it impacts your foundation. Local foundation repair companies like PierMagic understand the correlation. 
  
  Soil erosion means that too much water is wearing away at the soil. This needs to be addressed because soil is supposed to act as a layer of security for your foundation. When the soil erodes too much, more water can get into your basement. This erosion could be coming from excessive rain or leaking gutters.
  
  Dry, cracked soil is soil that has contracted because there hasn’t been rain. Clay soil in our area in particular is susceptible to contraction or shrinking. When the soil contracts, this also poses a risk to your foundation because you want to have soil that settles right up against your foundation walls as a layer of protection. 

• Chimney
  Another important part of your home, make a careful inspection of your chimney. You want to be sure that your home is safe, especially in the wintertime when you spend the holidays with family and friends. Winter is all about staying warm and safe indoors, so the chimney is a key part of the home to observe. The last thing you want during the holidays is a cold home, or, worse, a foundation issue that affects the safety of your guests.
  
  Here are some more specific things about your chimney that you may be noticing, and all of these would warrant a call to a home foundation specialist near you. If you have made any of these observations, a home foundation repair company can come out to your home and assess the situation for free.
  
  Look for:
  
  
• Chimney cracks, where the chimney meets the foundation
• Whether the chimney is pulling away from the house
• Cracks anywhere on the outside of the chimney
• Whether the chimney is leaning

Additionally, because your chimney is also inside your home, you can do an interior inspection of your chimney as well. 

Here’s how you can inspect your chimney indoors:

• Observe whether the walls are bowing where the chimney is located inside
• Look in the fireplace to see if there are cracks in the chimney
• Determine whether your windows or doors are sticking

Foundation Specialists Also Recommend These 3 Areas of Your Home 

1. Egress Windows in the Basement

Does your basement have proper egress windows? An egress window is a basement window that allows an easy exit for anyone who is in this part of the home. Whether the basement is finished or not, an egress window provides an emergency exit for anyone who may be trapped in the basement and can’t go up the basement stairs to escape.

For example, if there were a fire on the first floor of the home, someone in the basement may not be able to use the stairs and would need to exit through a basement. This situation, although frightening, is all too common. In fact, building code requires egress windows for any space that is being claimed as a living area or bedroom. Now that it’s the time of year when family and friends will be visiting, you want to be sure you take every precaution so that your home is safe for everyone coming to celebrate the holidays.

Egress windows also can add value to the home because they allow you to claim more living space. These windows - which can be installed by PierMagic in as little as a day - are attractively built and include design elements that can improve the look of your home inside and out. If you are planning to sell your home in the spring, getting egress windows installed now by home foundation specialists near you will increase the value of your home for potential buyers.

2. Sticking Doors and Windows On Any Floor of the Home

Windows and doors that stick or do not close properly also can be a sign that a foundation specialist should conduct a free inspection. When doors and windows are not opening and closing like they should, it is possible that the foundation has shifted, and it needs to be looked at to ensure its safety. PierMagic, Kansas City’s leading foundation specialists, can assess your foundation for free, and offer transparent, comprehensive information about what can be done to ensure your home is protected and secure.

3. Also Consider Your Flooring from Foundation Specialists Near You

Do you have cracks in your flooring that cause a tripping hazard? Is your flooring uneven and visually unattractive?

Polyjacking: PierMagic can also level your basement flooring with polyjacking, which is the insertion of polyurethane foam to fill gaps underneath the floor, so that they are even and flush. 

New Flooring: Experts in all things home foundation repair, we also offer polyaspartic floor coatings that are durable, beautiful, and customizable to your taste. These floor coatings only take a day to dry, so you can quickly make your garage, patio, or any other area of your home more attractive. 

PierMagic, Kansas City’s Foundation Specialists, Can Take Care of All of These Important Signs

All of the signs we’ve mentioned - in the basement, outside of the home, or in other areas such as the upper floors - are important indicators that home foundation repair may be necessary. 

Left unchecked, each of these signs can continue to get worse, causing significant damage to the home. When these signs are not treated properly by home foundation professionals, it can lead to a home repair calamity, including foundation failure. 

At any time of year - but especially during the holidays - you want to ensure that your family and friends are protected and safe, so that you can enjoy your time together without the disruption of a foundation issue. 

Need a superior foundation specialist near you? Look no further than PierMagic. Our over 15 years of experience as a locally-owned-and-operated Kansas City foundation repair company is the best choice for all of your foundation-related needs. 

We offer financing for our customers, including small monthly payments to ensure that everyone can enjoy the safety benefits as well as increased value of your home that you will get with PierMagic. 

Get in touch with us today by calling (816) 765-4800. You can also send us a message online, and request a free quote.