This Wasn’t Leaking Last Year: How Do Foundation Issues Pop Up So Quickly?
The foundation of your home is an essential component. Without a proper foundation, the walls, ceiling, and roof of your home are unable to function properly. The foundation of your home must be sound and remain intact to provide stability. When problems occur with the foundation, you can find that your floors begin to lean, walls begin to crack and other issues occur. What’s crazy about foundation problems is that your home may be fine one year and issues arise the very next year. If you have found that the foundation of your home is leaking due to water issues, it’s imperative you figure out what is going on.
Causes of Foundation Problems
Water is the main enemy when it comes to your foundation. Water can cause the soil around your foundation to swell or shrink. When too much water is present, the soil will expand. When there is too little water, the soil will shrink. In either case, you are likely to have a foundation problem.
As the soil moves, either by shrinking or swelling, it causes cracks and other damage to the home due to settling or heaving of the foundation. After a home is constructed, the soil under the foundation will become wetter or drier depending on the situation. Then this causes changes to the home that can have a negative effect.
Swelling Problems
The serious threat to the foundation is when the soil swells. Moisture can occur in the soil around the home due to plumbing leaks or subsurface water due to heavy rains. Surface water is also an issue and can be the main cause behind leaks in your foundation. Surface water is when there is an improper drainage area around your home.
When your home was constructed, care should have been taken to ensure that water will drain away when it rains. When you have poor drainage around the home, the soil around your foundation will gain moisture. This can include roof runoff water and just standing water around the home from heavy rains.
In general, surface drainage that is next to the foundation should slope away from the home. This helps to avoid excessive water soaking into the soil around your foundation. When you find that your home is susceptible to surface water, landscaping efforts need to be taken to pull the water away from the home. If you can catch the problem early enough, you can avoid any major leakage issues outside your home.
Check your foundation when it rains. Is water settling around the perimeter? If so, speak to a contractor or concrete professional about what can be done to protect your foundation. You may simply need a new water sealant to avoid water leakage in the area, or landscaping help may be required to pull water away from the home.
Being proactive and reviewing this area will ensure you do not have any major issues with your foundation in the future, including costly repairs or flooding.
