Over time, your home may settle due to expansive soil, excessive moisture, and faulty raw materials. However, if the settling and shifting are causing issues throughout your home, you may need foundation repair. Spotting your home’s foundation problems in the early stages and fixing them right away can save you from costly repairs and restore the comfort of your home. Foundation repair also protects your home from flooding and water damage and enhances the visual appearance of your home. Let’s explore what happens when your home settles, the causes, signs, and repair methods.
What is House Settling?
Usually, house settling happens due to the shifting or compaction of soil beneath your home. Some settling is normal, but if it is continuous or causes large shifts in the foundation, it may be caused by environmental factors, poor construction, or improperly compacted soil. It’s important to stop your house from settling quickly to prevent cracks, gaps, and other structural damage. Proper repair will prevent further settling and protect your home from mold growth, cracks in the drywall, sagging floors, jammed doors, and water damage.
What Causes a House to Settle?
When your home’s structure shifts naturally after construction, it causes your house to settle. Over the years, your home’s foundation begins to compress the soil under the foundation. The soil conditions or weather may increase this. Here, we’ve listed some of the most common reasons your home might be settling.
- Soil Conditions and Stability: When there’s excessive clay soil or sand underneath your home, it could fail to support your property’s weight, leading to settling. Another common cause of settling is contracting or expansive soil that causes shifting, heaving, and cracking of foundation walls.
- Foundation Materials: If clay, silt, sand, gravel, peat, loam, fill, or rock is present beneath your home’s foundation, it can cause settling. Proper management of soil compaction and foundation materials plays an important role in keeping your foundation strong and protected from potential settling. If the soil was not compacted properly before the foundation was prepared, your house may settle more than normal.
- Seasonal Changes: Changes in seasons and the moisture content in the soil can lead to water pooling and soil expansion and contraction beneath your home’s foundation. This can create pressure on the foundation or voids when the soil is washed away. The constant expansion and shrinking of soil throughout the year can cause the foundation to settle unevenly or sink.
6 Signs Your House is Settling
If you see any of these signs that your house is settling, you may need foundation repair. Here we have listed the top six signs your house is settling:
- Cracks in the Drywall: Drywall cracks can be a serious indicator of foundation movement, especially if they are diagonal or in a stair-step pattern.
- Doors and Windows Misaligned: When your home’s foundation settles, it can cause door and window frames to be misaligned. This may make it difficult to open or close the doors and windows. If you notice sticking doors and windows, you may want to have your foundation inspected.
- Large Cracks in the Concrete Slab: If your foundation is shifting or settling unevenly, it might cause cracks. If you notice cracks in your basement or foundation walls, they are probably caused by foundation movement.
- Gaps Between the Ceiling and Walls: When there is a huge gap between your home’s ceilings and walls, it indicates shifting or movement in the foundation.
- Uneven or Sloped Floors: The primary cause of uneven or sloping floors in your home might be your house settling. During the house settling process, your home’s floor may shift unevenly and slope downward. Foundation movement can also affect the beams and joists that support your floor, causing saggy or sloping floors.
- Mold, Mildew, or Dampness: A settling foundation may cause cracks that allow the mixture to seep into your basement or crawl space. When your basement or crawl space is wet, mold and mildew might grow. So, if you find mold or dampness in your home, it could indicate foundation shifting and settling.
Repair Your Foundation Today
When your house settles, it causes serious structural damage if you don’t repair it on time. Here are some of the most reliable solutions to maintain your home’s structural integrity:
1. Push Piers
Push piers are one of the most reliable solutions for repairing foundations experiencing settlement due to unstable soil. In this repair solution, steel push piers are driven into the ground until they reach stable soil and attached to your foundation with brackets. Then, they transfer excessive weight from your home to the stable soil to level your foundation and prevent further settling.
Some of the benefits of a push pier system include the following:
- Push piers lift your foundation back to its original position.
- They provide support to your house and prevent further settlement.
- Installing push piers requires less excavation compared to other solutions.
- They provide you with a long-lasting solution that ensures your peace of mind.
2. Helical Piers
Helical piers are a commonly used solution for stabilizing a settling foundation. This reliable solution is preferred by most homeowners as it is easy to install and helps you restore your foundation’s strength. You can install these piers in a wide variety of soil conditions to support load-bearing structures.
Some of the benefits of a helical pier repair solution are as follows:
- Helical piers are suitable for various soil conditions and geographic locations.
- They provide instant support to your home’s foundation right after installation.
- They are a versatile solution that can be used for hard-to-reach foundations.
Protect Your Home Long Term
If your foundation is shifting and settling, it’s important to address movement promptly to prevent severe structural damage. When you identify these issues, it’s important to take proactive steps to protect your home and its foundation from further damage. Solutions like push piers and helical piers can effectively stabilize your foundation and prevent further damage. Don’t wait until it’s too late! Contact Lamunyon Dry Out & Foundation Repair for a professional foundation repair solution today!
