Is Your Home's Foundation Settling?

If your house has a concrete slab foundation and is built on expansive clay soils or fill dirt chances are it is going to experience some settlement. There are simple things you can look for to keep an eye on the health of your foundation.

• Do all the doors and windows open and close properly or do some of them stick?


• Do any doors tend to swing open or closed without a push?


• Do you have cracks in the drywall that are wider at one end than the other end? Do you have cracks in the sheetrock near door or window casings?


• Any buckling of drywall tape or nails popping?


• How about separation of joints in crown molding?


• Does a marble or ball bearing placed on the floor tend to roll "downhill?"


• Any of these conditions could indicate foundation movement.

Go outside and check the exterior walls and the foundation itself. Look for diagonal cracks in brick veneers. Does there appear to be any separation near window sills or casings? Check for any separation between the brick or siding veneer and garage door jams. Hairline cracks in the concrete foundation are normal. Large cracks are not. There is an easy way to monitor the movement of any cracks you discover. Using a straight-edge and a pencil, mark both sides of the crack. If weeks later the two marks don't line up with each other, you know your foundation is experiencing movement. If your house shows any of the above signs of foundation distress you should think about having it inspected. The best thing to do is to arrange for an inspection by an independent registered structural or civil engineer who has experience in foundation repair yet is not tied to any contractor, builder or insurer.

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