Foundation Repair to Deal With Leaking Water or Radon
When you spot cracks in your foundation or signs of basement settling, you’ll need to schedule an inspection with local foundation repair contractors. The issue is not all those offering the service are great at their job. Luckily, some tips can help you increase your chances of landing a reputable and experienced contractor.
Talk to friends or family who live in your area and have had the same issues as you do. Ask them who they worked with to resolve the problem and if they were satisfied with the service. You can contact your realtor or HOA if you just moved to the area. They’ll likely have a list of contractors they recommend.
You can then check the online reviews and testimonials of other past customers to get a picture of the overall reputation of a foundation services construction company. Some reliable review sites include Angi’s List, Home Advisor, and Google Business. Verify their credentials to ensure you’re in safe hands. They should be licensed to practice law in your state. Prioritize companies who are accredited by the BBB. Schedule a meeting with any contractor you want to hire, during which you can ask any questions you may have and ask to see their collection of foundation repair tools and machines.
The foundation of a home is an important part of it, even if you rarely see it. If you need foundation repair services, it’s important to get those repairs before it causes other problems with the home. When you need an average foundation repair, it shouldn’t be difficult to get those services and get your house into better shape. If you have an issue in the basement or crawlspace, you need to call basement and crawlspace specialists to handle the situation. These spaces are much different from a slab foundation, and they need certain techniques to be used during repairs.
If you have a crack in your basement wall, this can indicate a number of problems. You need to call on a basement wall crack repair service to fix the problem as quickly as possible. A small crack might not mean much, but a large crack often indicates that there is a problem with the house settling, and the house may be sinking or facing too much pressure from the soil. To find basement wall crack repair companies near me, look online at the reviews of the local companies. The local business listings will show you which companies you have to choose from.
Every home in the United States is built on a foundation, and Texan homes younger than 50 years are built on slab foundations, which may give them some advantages over older types. In any case, the foundation of a home is one of the first things built while a house is under construction, and the quality of that foundation and the basement can affect the house’s condition as well. A good foundation will need only minimal foundation repair, but a faulty one will need foundation repair much more often, and commercial foundation repair crews can be hired locally to deal with foundation failure as it happens. A homeowner could perform an online search such as “Foundation repair in Dallas Texas” or “Dallas drainage services” if their foundation is allowing rainwater to leak in after every storm. What kind of harm might standing water do to a home’s basement and foundation? And how is radon gas an issue?
Why You Need Foundation Repair
Foundation repair can help curb some serious issues that may arise with a home’s foundation or basement, and prevent them from happening in the future. Water is one such problem. If standing water is allowed to build up in the basement, this extra moisture often fosters mold growth, and every homeowner knows what an issue mold is. These molds may release spores and other biological agents that can set off allergies or asthma among the home’s inhabitants, both people and pets. What is more, standing water can cause water damage to items in the basement, ranging from couches to cardboard boxes, and standing water might also erode and wear out the foundation or walls, and this can cause some structural problems. This intruding water might come from rainwater leaking during a storm or flash flood, or it might come from leaking pipes in the house. Leaking pipes drip water over time, and if this goes on too long, a lot of standing water will gather at the basement’s lowest point.
A radioactive gas like radon is more of a threat to homes than some Americans may realize, and the danger is very real and more widespread than some may think. How does this relate to foundation repair? A cracked or faulty foundation will allow radon, which naturally rises into the air from soil, to accumulate in the basement with dangerous results. A faulty foundation lets all that ground-based gas into the air, and once concentrations start rising, it’s a threat. Lower levels can cause chest pain or nausea or similar symptoms, and once the concentration is high enough, this gas can even cause lung cancer. Thousands of Americans every year succumb to lung cancer caused by radon gas exposure, so this deadly gas must not be allowed into the home.
Foundation Repair
Water, radon gas, and other problems can be prevented when foundation repair crews are found and hired locally, and a homeowner may even look up multiple contractors and compare and contrast their rates, expertise, availability, and customer reviews to find the best crew for the job. Meanwhile, plumbers can be hired to repair leaking pipes to help prevent that source of intruding water.
Foundation repair crews can help seal up a basement so that it does not get so much leaking water from rain or flash floods, and to further prevent water damage, a sump pump can be installed. Channels will be set up in the basement to redirect all loose water to this pump, which will then draw the water up and deposit it outside the house. Foundation repair crews can also fix the damage done by standing water or minor earthquakes.
Foundation repair may also fix the cracks and other faults that are allowing radon gas to leak into the home’s air from the ground underneath. At the same time, homehowners can buy and set up a radon testing kit from a hardware store and allow it to gather air samples, then transmit this data. Homeowners will be contacted about the test’s results, and if radon levels are too high, the home’s air must be cycled out and refreshed to lower those levels down below the EPA’s action level. This can save lives.