Watch Out For This: Foundation Movement

The starting point of any well-built, durable structure (like your house!) is a good, strong foundation. That’s all there is to know about it, right? Wrong. T&Z All Services’ professional handymen have seen their fair share of jobs that include repairing foundation nightmares all over Houston. What is foundation settlement, what problems could appear as a result, and what can be done to fix it?

Foundation settlement is the disturbance or disruption of a building (or parts of a building) due to the foundation sinking unevenly. You might think that you wouldn’t notice something like this happening beneath your home. For instance, if you notice gaps in the exterior of the house like this, you probably have a foundation problem:

A common misconception with foundation settlement is that there is a problem with the foundation slab itself. This is something that a company that offers repairs for these situations see quite often. The problem begins with the soil more often than not, which expands with more moisture (rain, snow, humidity) in the air and compresses again when the weather is consistently more dry. This is the real perpetrator of your foundational issues, and is something that should be examined and calculated before laying the foundation of any building. For you, it means being aware that this could be a potential problem when you purchase a home.

Severe foundation movement can lead to a host of other costly repairs if not taken care of immediately. The problems your foundation can cause include:

• (Obvious) Operational problems with windows and doors
• Cracking in masonry and veneer walls
• Problems with plumbing lines and mechanical equipment

If you notice problems like this, keep calm and call a professional handyman, 24/7 from T&Z All Services in Houston. Foundation fixes, plumbing problems, and any other repair you can think of, we’ll get it done and we’ll get it done right!