How The Foundation Of A Home Can Fail

It is a truism that everything made by human hands will fail eventually and the home you live in is no exception. While every house structure is built to last for decades or longer, there are plenty of home foundation faults that can require immediate attention and repair; worse still, they will usually cost a large sum of money. The goods news is that with a little foresight and planning, you can avoid most major framing collapses and issues.

The foundation of the home is the support upon which any home stands. It is the structural support that keeps it from sinking into soil and prevents anything from entering the basement, whether it is water, insects, animals, dirt, or gasses. The foundation may be poured concrete, concrete blocks, stone rubble, or brick, but has a much stronger and more compact structure than any other part of the house. Building codes have been standard in every state for the past half century, meaning that unless it is a very old building it will have a strong enough foundation to stand for a very long time.

Some houses, however new and up-to-code their design is, stand in areas prone to damage to the structure. Areas with high precipitation are obviously quite susceptible for water penetration, while areas with unstable soil conditions may result in shifting weight and too much of the house frame standing upon a single area. No matter how sound the design is, furthermore, it will naturally have small cracks. The majority of cracks are not harmful to the overall structure any more than a few dents in the body of a car are harmful to its operation, but when it becomes large it spells a major concern.

The foundation is not dependent upon plumbing or electricity and will not affect the operations of either part if it is defective unless part of the shifting weight puts stress upon pipes and wires. It is more likely, however, to see foundation damage in the form of windows that do not shut, of door frames that split at edges, and of floors that are not level. Sometimes it is enough to simply walk into a room to know that it is not on a 180-degree plain. When damage occurs to home framing, it is necessary to contact a home inspection service for an engineering report. A licensed engineer will inspect it and determine the building's structural soundness.