The foundation of your home is arguably the most important part of your entire house, even though you can't see it, because it literally supports the entire structure. Any sort of damage or cracking to the foundation can cause structural issues throughout your entire home, which can be expensive and complicated to fix. Fortunately, there are a few things that you can do to ensure that your home's foundation repair stays in good condition for as long as possible.
Proper Drainage
If water is allowed to soak into the ground too close to the side of your home, it can erode the soil around your foundation, which can lead to foundation shifting, and even contribute to cracking and physical damage. In order to prevent this from happening, make sure that your downspouts take water adequately away from the side of your home, and that your gutters are not damaged or clogged, which can cause overflow. In severe scenarios where water is pooling near your home, you may want to regrade your landscape's surface entirely or install French drains or another drainage solution to ensure that excessive water retention does not occur too close to your home.
Watering
In the opposite scenario from the above point, if your area suffers from droughts that quickly dry out the soil in your yard and particularly around your home, your foundation may suffer as soil shrivels up. During the summer months, especially if there has not been a great deal of rainfall, you should consider using soaker hoses or installing rock beds around the edges of your house to help the soil immediately around your foundation hold onto moisture, ensuring that any shifting due to soil shrinkage is kept to a minimum.
Tree Removal
Furthermore, you should keep an eye on trees in your yard. The root systems from larger trees that are near the side of your home can work their way into your foundation, or shift the soil around it, both of which can cause structural issues. In order to prevent this from happening, you'll have to completely remove the tree. This will also help reduce the likelihood of plumbing clogs due to root damage, as well as debris which collects on your roof due to fallen debris. Alternatively, for smaller shrubs and trees that have not yet grown too large, you can simply replant them in another area of your home further away from the side of your house.
Share7 March 2018
After we realized that we wanted to build our dream home, we didn't waste any time looking for a team of general contractors. We wanted to find experts that really understood what they were doing and who could see our vision, so we talked with dozens of contractors. It was an exhausting search, but by the time we found the right team, we knew that we were in good hands. Within a few short months, our project was underway, and we felt great about the progress. This blog is all about finding great contractors who can help with everything from design decisions to ground preparation.
