The foundation of a home keeps it upright. If the foundation weakens or fails, it can be a time consuming and costly endeavor. Some might equate foundations with leaky roofs or bad plumbing. However, foundation failure can easily cost between tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix. Homeowners should understand the architecture of the dwelling where they live. Some homes are over a hundred years old. The building specifications and methods used in decades past might be obsolete or even hazardous now, but the structure still exists. Homes built in centuries past were subject to the availability of roads and materials. Builders used the best they had at the time, but time can cause problems for foundations, some of which built out of wood, or they had wood pilings surrounded by a sand-based mortar, which means it was lime and sand which can and is deteriorating on many foundations.
Problems unique to Chicago are the plethora of trees that line many residential streets. Trees planted at 10 feet tall can quickly grow to 50 feet tall over 30 years. The roots spread out to create a foundation for the tree, but in the process, the roots suck up all available water, and that results in unstable soil, which leads to foundation cracking. Another issue is water from bad plumbing. Water leaks can happen for any number of reasons like old pipes or something as simple as frost freezing and breaking the pipes. Out of sight and therefore, out of mind is the standard approach for many homeowners. Complacency can cost almost as much as the house did.
It’s important to know what to look for so you can take a proactive approach. Cracks in the foundation walls fall into six categories. Some cracks are fixable by a trip to the local home improvement store. Others are more serious and may require professional contractors like foundation repair Arlington. A settlement crack is due to soil settling under a building. The gradual settlement is average and generally not a cause for concern; however, if it occurs in a short period, it could be from improper building design and need repair. Settlement cracks are also the result of too much or too little water. These are beyond the owner’s control, but it still needs attention.
Vertical cracks can form due to uneven settlement. They usually appear between concrete blocks and are the result of concrete shrinkage and movement of walls from abrupt temperature changes. The mortar used in the building process contains water, and the water is supposed to evaporate as the concrete hardens. Wide swings in temperature are also a reason for vertical cracks. The structural integrity is generally not compromised by vertical cracks, but they should be monitored. If the crack is spreading, it is cause for intervention by a contractor such as foundation repair Arlington.
A horizontal crack is a wall crack that runs across the wall and is the most cause of concern. Monitoring these cracks is not advisable. Horizontal cracks mean that the foundation is failing and requires immediate attention from a professional repair specialist such as foundation repair Arlington. A horizontal crack of any size is cause for concern, and they are usually accompanied by bending, swelling, or bowing of the basement wall. Although the wall most likely is not going to collapse at the sign of the first crack, they can be dangerous as they reduce the structural integrity of the building. The reasons for horizontal cracks are numerous. They include impact damage, tree roots, expansive soil, vehicle loads, which are next to the building, wet earth, and frost pressure.
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