Caring For Your Home In The United States

Here in the United States, owning a home certainly does come with many responsibilities. Not only must you care for the surface level aspects of your home, like the walls and the flooring and the furniture and decor you choose to display throughout it, but you must care for many other things as well. Roofing and insulation are both important to be well aware of, and so too is considering the foundation of your home.

The foundation of your home is hugely important as it helps to support the entirety of your home as a whole. Every home here in the United States is built with some type of foundation, and taking good care of your foundation will help to keep it in good shape for many years to come. In some cases, this requires preventative care – but sometimes foundation issues will still arise with age or due to environmental or other factors. When foundation issues become known, it’s important to look into a foundation repair company – and a foundation repair expert, for that matter – as soon as it is possible to do so.

For instance, older foundations can develop foundation issues as time passes on. When we look at the state of Texas, for example, we find that most of the houses that have been built within the last half of a century or so will have a slab foundation. Older homes, however, are likely to develop a number of different foundation issues. These foundation issues can range from very minor to quite extensive, but all foundation issues – and all matters of foundation repair – should be handled by a professional whenever it is possible.

Aside from age and the wear and tear that comes with it (often leading to foundation issues and even a number of other concerns for the typical home here in the United States) there are a number of other things that can lead to foundation issues for various homes all throughout the country. Much of these foundation issues can actually stem from plant life, gardening and landscaping choices made for the home, something that many people might end up being surprised to learn about.

For instance, the use of soakers is something that must be monitored and planned out very carefully. These soakers, after all, can have a detrimental impact on the quality of the foundation of just about any given home. Ideally, soakers will be kept at the very minimum 12 feet away from the foundation. In order to be extra sure not to cause foundation issues, some people and foundation professionals will even advise placing soakers no closer than 18 inches away from the foundation to be sure that foundation issues will not arise from their usage.

The type of soil that is used – and how much water this soil needs – can also have an impact on the foundation of the home. Therefore, choosing the right soil to be placed near the foundation of the home is a very important choice indeed. Fortunately, there are a good deal of choices for soil here in the United States, with the state of Texas alone offering up to 60 of them. But, of course, speaking to someone with experience in foundation as well as in landscaping will be ideal for choosing the right type of soil and avoiding foundation issues.

Foundation issues and the need for foundation repair services can also be avoided with the careful and methodical building of the home in the first place. For instance, properly placing pier and beam foundation joists will be critical to the overall longevity and quality of the foundation. Ideally these joists should be spaced just about exactly 18 inches apart for the optimal results possible. In this type of foundation, the spacing of the beams is also key, and these beams should be spaced exactly one foot apart from one another in order to provide a good deal of security and stability for the home that is then construction on top of this foundation.

From careful building to careful landscaping, many foundation issues can be avoided entirely.