5 Signs You Might Need Foundation Repair After Water Damage
During the rainy season, you notice water pooling in your basement and shrug it off. Water isn’t that big of a concern, right? Wrong.
The water seeping into the basement doesn’t stop there. It soaks into porous building materials.
Over time the water damage can result in serious problems in your home.
Even after the water is gone, the damage continues. You might not notice these issues right away. Sometimes you won’t recognize a problem if you don’t know what to look for.
These problems range from replacing crumbling drywall to home foundation repair.
Did your home survive a flood recently? If so, you need to keep an eye out for these 5 warning signs.
1. Musty Air in the Basement
Basements are notorious for having a weird odor. Most people assume it’s just because their basement is underground.
The truth is, that stale, musty scent is a warning sign.
Mold spores and mildew are the prime suspects for any weird basement odors. Both need moisture to grow.
Any part of your home below ground level is prone to excess moisture. Basements don’t have enough airflow to keep the moisture in check.
If the smell is really bad, it could mean that the flooding in your basement was contaminated. Floodwaters often contain harmful bacteria and raw sewage.
Finding the source of the bad smell can be difficult. A professional foundation repair crew will know exactly where to look.
2. Cracks Forming on the Walls and Basement Floor
After their basement flooded, most homeowners think a quick cleanup is the end of the ordeal.
Unfortunately, cleanup is just the beginning of the restoration process.
Building materials are porous, absorbing any water they come in contact with. You may assume concrete is waterproof, but that isn’t true.
In order for your concrete foundation to repel water, it needs moisture barriers. Older homes often aren’t built with these precautions in place.
When too much water soaks into the concrete, it forms cracks. These cracks shift with changes in temperature and humidity.
As the damaged foundation shifts, it affects the rest of your house. While you may not see the foundation cracks, you will notice cracks in your home’s walls.
Fixing the cracks in your walls won’t solve the main problem. To prevent further damage, contact a foundation repair company.
3. Doors and Windows Don’t Work Correctly
Is your home drafty after cleaning the flood damage? The problem isn’t the doors and windows. It’s yet another sign that your foundation needs repairs.
A shifting foundation warps your home’s walls. When the walls move, it causes gaps around the doors and windows.
These gaps will cost you quite a bit of money over time. They allow air to leak out of your home. To make up for it, your HVAC unit runs more often.
In extreme cases, the warping will prevent a door from latching properly. Without foundation repair, this can lead to security problems in your home.
Gaps around the windows and doors aren’t the only sign of foundation trouble. If the walls moved, it’s likely your windows won’t open.
Homeowners often assume high humidity is to blame for stuck windows. The real problem is your walls pushing against the window frame. The added pressure warps the frame, making it difficult to open the window.
4. Uncontrollable Mold Problems
Mold is the easiest to spot sign that your foundation needs repairs.
As the cracked foundation sits, it wicks water up from the ground. The extra moisture feeds mold and mildew.
Mold spores travel in the air. Once mold spores invade your home, they spread everywhere. What may start as a small mold patch in the basement may lead to a bathroom covered in black mold.
Any porous material in your home is at risk once mold spreads. Not only does mold need water to survive, but it feeds on organic materials.
Building materials mold eats include:
- Floorboards
- Drywall
- Wallpaper
- Carpeting
- Wood wall studs
Without mold remediation, an infestation can cause major problems like a collapsed floor. But if you don’t fix the primary issue with your cracked foundation, the mold will return.
Long-term exposure to mold spores causes health problems, as well.
People with asthma and other health conditions suffer the most. Recent research shows that even healthy people are affected by mold exposure.
Common health issues associated with mold exposure are:
- Respiratory infection
- Asthma attack
- Skin and eye irritation
- Sinus congestion
- Sore throat
- Allergic reactions
To prevent damage to your home and family, you need to act quickly after a flood. It takes 24 hours for mold to grow.
5. Leaning Walls
Flood damage isn’t always easy to spot. For instance, a severe flood can displace soil under or around your foundation. Over time, this leads to a cracked foundation.
Once the foundation cracks, it moves with the changing seasons. The displaced soil may also allow tree roots to burrow into the foundation cracks. The roots lift the foundation and make the cracks wider.
All this movement warps the walls in your home. An unstable wall will bow or lean. When this happens to a load-bearing wall, it could cause a major collapse.
How can you spot wall bulging? In most cases, bulging starts with a horizontal crack near the middle of the wall. The crack may be short or extend across the entire wall.
Leaning walls are harder to identify on your own unless it’s an extreme problem. If you think your walls are leaning because of a foundation issue, consult an expert.
Foundation Repair Isn’t a Problem to Ignore
Your home should be a safe haven. Damage to your home’s foundation turns your safe place into a danger zone. Your family shouldn’t live in fear of mold exposure or a collapsing floor.
If you spot more than one of these problems in your home, you need foundation repair. Unfortunately, foundation repairs aren’t a do-it-yourself project.
Do you live near Concord, NC? Then Sedona Waterproofing Solutions is the answer to your foundation problems.
Contact us today to arrange a free no-obligation quote for foundation repair costs.
Learn more about Sedona Waterproofing Solutions.
