3 Signs Your Foundation is Settling

Imagine this: you’ve invited your sister and her family over to enjoy your pool on a hot summer day. Your child approaches and tells you they’re thirsty. You instruct them to go inside and grab some juice boxes for the family to share. They groan because they were expecting you to go get it, but they comply. On their way in, your attention is drawn to your kiddo struggling to open the door. You complain to your sister about how the door is getting harder and harder to open. She tells you that it’s the wood swelling from the summer humidity. Sand it down it’ll be fine. 

That solution might work in the short term. In reality, there is a much bigger issue at hand. Sticking doors and windows is just one of several ways to tell that you have a foundation problem in your home. If sticking doors aren’t a problem for you, that’s ok. There is more than one way to identify your foundation problems.

Foundation Cracks

Stair-Step Foundation Cracking

If you have an old brick home, there’s a good chance you’ve seen this type of crack. It’s the easiest way to indicate a foundation problem. Typically these are found outside your home. They can be found on the inside too.  

Vertical Foundation Cracking

Vertical cracking is typically seen on poured concrete and foundation walls that were built from concrete blocks. 

Drywall Cracks

When we inspect houses a lot of homeowners assume that cracks at drywall seams are from shoddy workmanship. As a result, many aren't too worried about them. Perhaps the homeowners before them were avid DIYers. They assume the cracks were showing up because the people who owned the house before didn't know what they were doing.  

Homeowners are often surprised when they learn those cracks were a sign of something much more sinister. As you probably already guessed, it’s another sign of foundation settlement. It's good to learn about that before the issue gets any worse!

Door and Window Cracks

Doors and windows can give you a lot of insight into what is going on with your home. Cracks are the first one we’ll discuss. If you have a home with cracks starting at the corner of a window or door frame, it’s just one more sign that there is an issue. If you’ve recently moved into a home and noticed caulking around the exterior of windows and doors it’s typically a sign that the homeowners before you tried to fix the cracks themselves by caulking it up. This solution will not stop the continuing growth of the crack. 

So which of these cracks are the worst? None of them are good and if you have any or all of them you should definitely get them addressed. To get the real answer though we asked our good friend Kyle Olson. He explained that the worst crack is an active crack. If you’ve noticed any of these cracks on your property don’t wait. Cracks start out small but they rarely stay that way.

Doors And Windows

Let’s finish the topic of windows and doors. Here are a few more things to look out for.

• Doors and windows out of their square. 

• A window or door coming out of its framing. 

• The locking mechanism isn’t lining up anymore.

• Lastly, our scenario in the beginning: sticking doors and windows. 

So why are doors and windows such a good place to identify settlement? It’s the weakest point of the wall. It is therefore the first place signs of foundation settlement can be seen. 

Chimneys

Sometimes the foundation of the chimney and the foundation of your house are not the same. So, if you have foundation settlement in either of these areas you may notice the chimney separating from the house. The chimney can start coming away from the house even if the foundation is the same. Either way, the separation between the chimney and the home’s structure is dangerous and should be dealt with quickly. 

All of these signs and symptoms start out small. Many homeowners brush it off as a problem for the future. However, as small as the problem seems in the beginning, they can quickly become bigger, more expensive problems if they aren't addressed. Be proactive with the safety and health of your home. If you’re beginning to see signs of foundation problems, give us a call for your free estimate.