As a homeowner, you should know that homeownership is all about responsibility. If you have been living in a rental apartment before, your only responsibility was to pay rent on time, as everything else was taken care of by the landlord.
Now that you are a homeowner, you have to ensure that your house is in perfect order. Now, when it comes to taking care of the house, you must pay attention to the foundation of your house, too. Here are some of the tell-tale signs that the flooring of your house needs some fixing.
Cracks on the Exterior Wall
The first sign that you might need foundation repair is when you can detect cracks in your exterior wall. Now, it is important to mention here that not all cracks in the exterior walls mean that you have foundation problems. This aspect indicates that you must pay attention to the pattern of the cracks. If the pattern of the cracks is in a zigzag, it means that your house has foundation repair.
Also, if the crack on the external wall is greater than one inch wide and the crack is getting bigger, you need to get in touch with a professional to fix the issue.
Separated Cabinets
Another sign that you might have to opt for foundation repair is that the cabinets or kitchen counters are getting separated from the walls. The underlying reason is that the unlevel floors will cause unlevel walls, which will then cause the cabinets and counters to get separated from the walls.
Now, it is important to mention here that usually, this sort of separation is not detectable by the inexperienced eye, so you might have to really strain your eyes to detect this issue.
Shaky Floors
Ideally, the floors of your house should never be shaky or bouncy. In the worst-case scenario, you might have to opt for a new foundation. On that note, if you plan to build a house from scratch, you should opt for precast concrete and other good-quality building materials so that you can build a solid foundation.
Nonetheless, the point is that you need to beware of sagging floorboards or squeaky floors. What is even worse is that bouncy floors are serious indicators that you have foundation problems. In most cases, bouncing floors can indicate that you are dealing with rotten structural beams.
Mold Smell
Another sign that the foundation of your house might need some repair is the presence of a mildew smell. Now, the presence of mold in the house can cause loads of problems, including serious health issues. It is also important to mention here that mildew is not always caused by foundation problems.
The best thing you can do is to get in touch with a professional expert who can assess your house and get down to the cause. Usually, if you detect the persistent odor of mildew coming from your basement, it can indicate cracks in the foundation where water or moisture might have seeped through.
