Are the unplanned foundation repairs eating into your budget?
Most homeowners are facing this issue. While we invest in a home to enjoy stability, unexpected maintenance issues like the one with the foundation can be overwhelming.
Like everything else in your house, the foundation should also be maintained properly and regularly to avoid unnecessary expenditure. But many homeowners ignore the maintenance or any other signs of the starting of foundation damages and keep postponing the work. This could end up in you paying huge costs to fix the issue.
If you’re a homeowner who doesn’t want to be burdened with unexpected foundation repairs, then this blog is for you. Let’s look at some of the common reasons for foundation repairs and how you can detect and fix them.
7 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Put-Off the Foundation Repair
Our foundation repair experts at Guardian have worked on several foundation fixing projects in Knoxville to know the best ways to predict and prevent a major breakout. Here are some insights and reasons from our practical experience.
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1. Slow Decay of the Foundation Means Escalating Repair Costs
Unlike the other appliances or furniture in your house, foundation repairs aren’t a one-cost service. The more time you take to repair the foundation, the more damages and more the repair costs.
And you can only do so much foundation repair work on your own. It’s important to identify when the issue is out of your control and call the experts.
The repair cost depends on the extent of the damage, the area of the damage, the location of the issue and sometimes, even the surroundings. So, when you don’t fix a foundation issue when it has just started, it can slowly spread to the other parts of your home and you may end up paying enormous prices for the damaged area to repair.
While repairing your foundation will cost you a bit, you can actually save money by calling in foundation repair experts as soon as you notice the issue.
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2. You Can Face Other Structural Problems
If you think the foundation damage is a single issue that doesn’t have any consequences, think again.
As your foundation starts to decay, probably due to water logging or any pest issue, it can slowly creep towards the structure and create problems there too. This can lead to:
- Cracks in your ceiling, slabs, shelves and walls of your house,
- Disoriented doors and windows,
- Sagging floors,
- Roof leakages,
- Leakage in insulation, and
- Mismatch in the attachment of additional equipment or structures.
These are just some of the structural issues you can face due to foundation damages. And it can become a lot worse when you keep fixing only the structural problem instead of addressing the foundation damage.
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3. Your Plumbing Can Become Vulnerable
The plumbing lines used in Knoxville homes are usually very strong but are extremely vulnerable to breakage.
This can happen when there’s foundation damage that could shift in the subsoil or disturbance in the supporting materials for the plumbing lines or drops or dislocation of the wet slabs. Any of these could put additional pressure on the pipes that leads to leakage or breakage.
If you’re using french drain systems or any other concealed, below soil level pipings, it’s difficult for the plumbing people to access and fix the issue. And this will cost you a lot more for the french drain installation along with the foundation repair.
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4. Your Home Can Be Prone to Infestations
When there’s damage in the foundation, most probably a crack in some location, it can become the path for the insects to come inside your home!
You can see termites, silverfish, spiders and other such infestations increasing in your home if there’s foundation damage. Sometimes, you can notice mould and mildew formation, which happens when the crawl space encapsulation is compromised.
These infestations can trigger allergy and cause health issues which is the last consequence you could ever want due to foundation damage. When you’re planning to rework your entire foundation, you can go for a wet slab foundation that can prevent a majority of such issues.
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5. You’ll Start Paying High Electricity Bills
This is an indirect consequence of foundation damage. When your damage is severe, it can cause cracks in the doors, windows and other insulation materials, which leads to air leakage and drafts. Due to this reason, your air conditioner needs to work more to compensate for the leakage which leads to high electricity bills.
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6. The Basement and the Woodwork Can Be Damaged
If your foundation issue is due to waterlogging or seepage, then there’s a high chance of the water slowly seeping into your basement and damaging the stuff present there.
If you haven’t recognized the issue and rectified it by now, the mould and mildew infestation and the waterlogging from the basement can spread to the woodwork in your home like the doors and windows and damage them all.
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7. Your Property Value Will Decline
If you’re planning to sell your home in the next few years, then a damaged foundation can put a severe damper on your property value. It’s very easy for anyone to spot a home with a foundation issue. When new prospects are coming in to look into your home, they can identify the damages in the woodwork, cracks in the walls and ceiling and guess the problem.
This would reduce your property value so much more than the cost of hiring a foundation repair company. So, it’s best to hire a professional team to fix the issue as it starts instead of letting it brew and cost you double or triple the initial cost.
Our Guardian foundation repair experts at Knoxville can help to identify the issue, propose a suitable solution and get the issue fixed as quickly as possible for affordable rates. Call us at (865) 675-4177 to know more about our services.