Keeping your home’s foundations in good condition can be a costly process. The best way to make sure you keep ahead of any problems is to have regular inspections of your foundations and basement, but too often this gets side-lined ahead of other, more pressing issues. Here are 10 signs that you might need some Toronto foundation repair work done in the near future:
1. Windows and doors are hard to open
When your windows and doors begin sticking, your first thought is that the temperature has caused expansion or contraction, isn’t it? That’s not necessarily the case. Heat and cold can have some effect on the frames, but with the metal used in most homes, they are unlikely to have much impact. If you find you regularly struggle to open them, it may be because your home has shifted on the foundations.
2. Gaps in window and door frames
The movement of a home on its foundations causes changes in the alignment of the building, resulting in the appearance of gaps. These start out as hairline spaces that you barely notice, but as the problem gets worse the gaps are likely to increase in size. This could indicate an urgent need for you to get Toronto foundation repair work done.
3. Cracks in the wall plaster
If you notice cracks in your wall plaster, it could also be an indication of the house shifting on its foundations. Often, the shifting is due to the presence of water in the foundations, and if you have sound basement waterproofing you may not even be aware of the damage happening outside in the ground.
4. Bowed basement walls
This is a sure sign of a weakened wall structure, which is most likely caused by saturated soil pressing against the outside of the walls. After a time, the basement wall interior cracks under the pressure and allows water to enter. This makes your basement wet and moldy and can cause full-scale basement flooding, damaging any items stored in the area.
5. Uneven floors
These are yet another sign that you may need to repair a Toronto foundation sooner rather than later. Uneven, sloping floors are typically caused by the sinking of a home on its foundations and the direction of the slope may indicate where you can start looking for the problem. The earth that has been washed away by water from downspouts or broken drains can cause a gap under or alongside the foundation, resulting in the house starting to sink on one side.
6. Pooling water
Water pooling in the lower parts of your home can often be addressed by basement waterproofing. If you find an unexplained accumulation of water outside around your foundations, however, or water seems to be causing the soil to separate away from the house, it could be an indication that your problems are about to start.
If you see any of these signs, we suggest you contact your local plumber without delay and have your home inspected. A good Toronto foundation repair company can halt the problem before it becomes unnecessarily expensive, but the earlier you pay attention the better.
