Your home’s foundation is essential to your house’s overall structural stability. When you properly maintain your foundation, you can ensure that your property remains secure and well-built over the years. Many people take great pride in the quality of their homes, and maintaining a sound foundation is one of their top priorities.
However, neglecting to conduct foundation maintenance and foundation repair can lead to various structural issues, foundation damage, and costly repairs. Save money by taking a preventative approach and address your foundation issues before they become critical—we promise that your future self will thank you for it!
Foundation Maintenance Tips to Prevent Issues
As a leading company in commercial and residential foundation repair, we at Powerlift Foundation Repair have encountered a wide range of foundation problems across various properties. We’ve also witnessed firsthand how important it is for homeowners to be proactive in maintaining their foundation to avoid costly foundation issues.
So, with our years of experience in the industry, we’ve compiled a list of foundation maintenance tips to guide you on your mission to preserve and strengthen your home’s foundation.
Perform Regular Foundation Inspections
The first foundation maintenance tip may seem obvious, but we can’t overstate its importance: Make sure to perform regular inspections on your foundation. Proper foundation maintenance requires commitment, so schedule an inspection at least once a year, after extreme, destructive weather events, and whenever you notice any signs that might point toward bigger foundation issues. Keep an eye out for foundation cracks (both major and minor cracks), water damage, sagging walls, and shifting floors and door frames—these are signs that there may be bigger underlying problems related to your foundation.
Prevent Water Accumulation and Maintain Consistent Moisture Levels Around Your Foundation
The quality of the soil surrounding your foundation can either bolster its stability or pose risks to its integrity. Soil that’s too wet or dry can lead to unsteadiness and cracks in your foundation, so prioritize maintaining a consistent moisture level around it to avoid damage.
Maintain Flower Beds, Plants, Fences, Pools, Sidewalks, Patios, and Driveways
By maintaining your house’s various landscaping features, you can properly control and maintain the moisture saturation around the foundation. Maintaining flower beds and plants can also drain excess water from the foundation, avoiding water accumulation. Paved, impermeable surfaces like sidewalks, patios, and driveways can also aid in preventing water from pooling by pulling water away from your foundation.
Maintain Irrigation and Sprinkler Systems
During dry periods, an automatic sprinkler system can help keep the soil around your foundation on a consistent moisture level. Another option is to place a rock bed around your foundation to ensure that your foundation receives the moisture it needs, keeping the water from being completely pulled in by the soil.
Keep Your Gutters and Downspouts Clear
Gutters and downspouts clogged by leaves, twigs, and other debris can lead to water buildup, which can impact the health of your foundation. Clearing out your gutters and downspouts ensures that the water it collects is going to its rightful place, thus preventing excess water from compromising the moisture saturation around the foundation.
Grade the Land for Proper Drainage
Grade your house’s land to maintain a positive slope leading away from your foundation. In other words, make sure that your land is graded to direct water away from your house instead of toward it, which will help prevent water accumulation and avoid disturbing the moisture levels around the area. You can do this by adding fill dirt to the sides of your house and shaping it so it slopes away from the foundation.
Install an Underground Foundation Watering System
By installing a foundation watering system underground, you can ensure that the soil around your foundation is being properly watered and isn’t becoming too dry. Doing so helps you maintain a consistent moisture level.
Install a Sump Pump or a Drainage System
By installing a sump pump right under your basement floor or in the lowest part of your crawl space, the device will direct water away from the foundation and collect it, thus keeping foundations from possible water damage.
Similarly, setting up a sound drainage system near your foundation prevents water accumulation, which can help prevent foundation upheaval while preserving its strength and firmness.
Conduct Plumbing Tests
Arranging a plumbing inspection annually is one of the most important foundation maintenance tips. Doing so can help you catch any existing leaks and plumbing issues that could lead to flooding. In turn, this water accumulation can lead to water damage and the eventual deterioration of your foundation.
Maintaining consistent moisture levels is a necessity for a healthy foundation, so be on the lookout for leaks that can lead to an uneven soil moisture level near the foundation, which can compromise your foundation’s integrity over time.
Keep Tree Roots and Deep-Rooted Plants Away from Your Foundation
Another tip that can help you avoid foundation problems is to be mindful of large trees and deep-rooted plants. They may seem harmless, but many plants and large tree roots grow and invade the foundation’s space, its pressure and root penetration leading to cracks and severe damage to the house’s structure. Roots can also affect the soil near the foundation, causing the foundation to move or become unstable.
In case there’s no viable way to relocate your trees and plants, you can install a root barrier. It serves as a physical barrier under the soil that keeps tree roots from expanding in places we don’t want them to—like foundations!
Contact Powerlift Foundation Repair for Professional Assistance
At the end of the day, it’s always wise to enlist the help of a professional who’s certain to do the job correctly. So, if you want someone experienced to help keep your foundation in good shape, don’t hesitate to reach out to the trusted experts in your city! Most homeowners are more comfortable with the knowledge that the integrity of their home is in a professional’s capable hands.
Powerlift Foundation Repair is led by a team of professionals backed by years of hands-on foundation experience, such as installations, repairs, and maintenance. With systems and processes highly recommended by engineers, homeowners, realtors, and repair professionals, Powerlift is your go-to for all your foundation needs. Get in touch today for expert assistance and solutions tailored to your foundation needs!