Keeping your foundation dry is critical to maintaining an integral part of your home. People often forget about it until a problem arises because it’s out of sight, out of mind.
There are a lot of issues that can wreak havoc on your home’s foundation. Water will find its way in through any crack or crevice, causing preventable problems with ongoing maintenance or some value-added jobs a contractor can complete. Many of these related home improvement jobs can be backbreaking or tedious, depending on your enthusiasm for DIY projects.
Allied Restoration can keep your foundation dry using several effective methods. Hence, your home remains stable and will retain its value for years to come.
Signs You Need to Keep Your Foundation Dry
Many older homes were built with basements. Even if you only have a crawl space upon close inspection, you may be able to identify problems. Starting with the interior, go down into your basement or venture into your crawl space. If it smells musty, that’s not a good sign. If the basement feels cooler than appropriate, you may have water seeping through your foundation. Damp floors and walls are a dead giveaway.
Clogged Gutters
Now head outside and take a look at your gutters. When was the last time you cleaned them? Clogged gutters pose many problems. When heavy rain comes, they fill up, and the water overflows down the side of the house directly towards your foundation. Homebuilders design gutters to take water away from the home to protect the structure.
Landscaping
Take a look at the foundation. If you have deep crevasses where the dirt meets the concrete, it’s an easy entry for water to migrate into your home. Your landscaping plays a crucial part in keeping your foundation dry. Having curbing installed around the flower beds need to be lower than the foundation. You may need to modify the areas you’ve planted near the house. Plants are good. Don’t get me wrong. They soak up water before it can get to your foundation if planted correctly. Because you’ll water them regularly, it also keeps the dirt from cracking during extreme drought, allowing water in after a heavy rain pour.
Look at the trees planted near the house. Are they getting so big the roots threaten to push up the foundation? Think about the sidewalks you’ve seen popping up due to the roots of a beautiful old tree.
Solutions for Keeping Your Foundation Dry
If you’ve already suffered visual damage, don’t delay. Call Allied Restoration. We can help you assess the situation and come up with solutions.
French Drain
If heavy rain and standing water are a problem, you may opt for a French drain. We dig a trench down around your foundation. Then, a perforated pipe is set on top of the gravel and covered with more rock. The pipe redirects the water to another area away from your foundation.
Gutters and Downspouts
Maintenance will extend the life of your gutters, and you should get them checked a few times a year, depending on how many trees are in your yard. Extended downspouts are a consideration to direct water further away from the house and a simple fix if appropriate.
Hopefully, you don’t have a much-loved tree encroaching on the foundation. Taking it down may be the only way to fix that problem.
Even if you haven’t seen any visual signs of your foundation leaking, calling for a professional assessment of your foundation may save you money and headaches down the road. At Allied Restoration, we have licensed professionals trained to identify problems. Call us now and protect the foundation of your home.
Allied Restoration is an IICRC (Institute Of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification), Certified Firm. Our Senior Project Manager, Wilma Fogler, was the first person in the State of Maryland to achieve the IICRC Master Water Restorer Certification. Allied is Licensed, Bonded, Insured, and a member in good standing with the Better Business Bureau. 