Protecting your home or business from the elements is a daily battle. Not only is it important to recognize the signs of land and structural deterioration because of water damage, but it is also vital to understand how to take corrective measures to prevent future foundation breakdowns. Here are the indistinct warning signs your home’s foundation needs water damage restoration.
How To Identify If Foundation Has Structural Or Non-Structural Damage
While both structural and non-structural water damage will require water damage restoration, the extent of it will significantly determine a water damage restoration plan of action, equipment usage, materials, and labor costs. A thorough inspection will identify if there are foundation issues that require remediation or if the leak has only affected non-structural building material.
- Structural damage to the foundation occurs when water damage causes deterioration over time or through widespread water damage. Your home or business may begin to show signs of instability, uneven sinkage, or a weight shift. The basement walls will also show signs of corrosion or inward caving and will cause the building to become unbalanced.
- If you suffer unexpected flooding, it is possible to suffer non-structural damage because of seepage through porous building materials that cause cracks, flaking drywall, or mold. This type of damage is not as serious as foundation damage but will require remediation.
Common Foundation Damage Signs
Interiorly, a property owner will notice structural issues like misaligned doors or windows, uneven floors, and cracks in the foundation, walls, and sheetrock. Exteriorly, there will be cracks in the foundation, rising damp, and door, window, or wall separation from a structure, broken building material, wall rotation, and missing molding. Mold and mildew can also be present.
How Can Water Damage A Foundation?
Here are three ways that water could cause such damage to the foundation of a home or business.
- Underground Hydrostatic Pressure
When the water rises to the ground surface, it will push upward under the foundation and enter a structure through porous building material, including base concrete layering. Once the water damage restoration occurs, using preventative measures will reduce flooding.
- Above Ground Pooling
Whether from rainwater accumulation or a broken main water pipe, above ground pooling can quickly become problematic when it seeps into a building’s foundation. It usually is caused by blocked rain gutters, landscaping issues, or improper drainage systems that allow water to return to the area directly around or under the foundation.
- Exterior Pressurization
Water drainage significantly affects how quickly a drainage system removes rainwater from the home. When it penetrates the soil, it has a great deal to do with swelling and eventual flooding since it applies pressure on the foundation and causes disintegration.
How To Stabilize A Foundation With Water Damage Restoration
If an expert determines during a water damage restoration inspection that a building’s foundation is unstable, it requires special steps to reduce the moisture in the soil with either manual removal or by installing a drain tile system below ground. If a home is sinking, a hydraulic support system will restabilize it. Using steel straps help to unbuckle walls as well. Removing pooling water, sealing cracks or gaps, and waterproofing will remediate a property.
To learn more about water damage restoration or foundation inspection services, call us at 1-800-847-0114 or visit us on our Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/RestorePro911/.
