While many parts of the house can be considered important, it could be argued that one of the most vital parts of the home is the foundation. There are three primary forms of home foundation: crawl spaces, slabs, and full basements. Foundations are so important because they form the base on which the entire house rests. If the foundation is in good shape, then the house itself will be in good shape, and vice versa. Because of this, it’s very important to keep the home’s foundation in good repair and there are several ways to do so. This article will take a look at several ways to keep the home’s foundation in good shape.
- House Leveling Services: One way to keep the home’s foundation in good shape is to use house leveling services (which can also be used on the foundation) to keep the foundation level. Also known as slab jacking, this process is used if parts of the foundation, and by extension the home, have begun to settle and sink into the ground. This can happen because the ground underneath the home has become unstable, and can cause deep cracks to form as the foundation starts to sink. House leveling services will raise up the sinking part of the foundation until it is level again, and then have the ground underneath fortified so that the issue can’t easily happen again.
- Waterproof the Basement: Another way to keep the home’s foundation in good shape is to waterproof the basement. Basement waterproofing can take two forms, namely interior waterproofing and exterior waterproofing. The waterproofing process is meant to seal the area inside and out to prevent water from getting in and damaging the foundation through water damage. While 98% of all homes with a full basement suffer some form of water damage, waterproofing can mostly prevent catastrophic water damage issues from occurring.
- Crawl Space Encapsulation: A third way to keep the home’s foundation in good shape, particularly if the foundation is formed by a crawl space, is to use a process known as crawl space encapsulation. The process of crawl space encapsulation effectively seals the crawl space in an effort to keep moisture out of the area. The idea behind this is that if the crawl space can remain dry, it will remain in good shape for a relatively long time, because moisture isn’t getting in to negatively affect the area.
- Seal and Repair Cracks in the Foundation: And finally, a fourth way to keep the home’s foundation in good shape is to have any cracks in the foundation slab repaired and sealed. Any cracks in the foundations, large or small, could be a sign that something is seriously wrong with the foundation, so it is important to have the overall foundation examined before the cracks are sealed to make sure that the cracks aren’t a symptom of a larger problem.
In conclusion, there are a number of ways to keep the home’s foundation in good shape. These ways include, but are not limited to: using house leveling services to prevent a foundation from sinking, waterproofing the basement, using crawl space encapsulation services as necessary, and sealing and repairing cracks in the foundation. These are just a few of the ways a home’s foundation can be kept in good repair and overall good shape.