You go into your basement and notice a crack in your foundation. You stare at it, touch it and maybe show others in your family about your newly found home improvement problem. The next step is much more mysterious. What do you do with this crack in your home's foundation?
It's nothing a little caulk from Home Depot can't cure you think to yourself. So you put the caulk in the crack and hope for the best. Maybe it stays put or maybe over time, the foundation keeps moving and the hardened caulk separates from the crack. Foundations can be frustrating and confusing to fix - who couldn't use a little help (in layman's terms!) in this seemingly cloistered industry, which homeowners don't seem to talk much about?
Foundation work is tricky in that it's what holds your home up, so you want it to be as sound as possible so your home doesn't come crashing down. Most foundation issues aren't that dramatic but my point stands nonetheless.
First, mark both sides of the crack width-wise and lengthwise with a marker. You may prefer to tape a piece of paper to the wall so there aren't permanent marks on the wall. Over the period of a few months, check on the marks to see if they have moved at all. This is some homework or evidence that you can arm yourself with to help be part of your foundation solution.
After you've marked the wall cracks, call a reputable foundation repair contractor. The good contractors may be booked out a few weeks in their schedule, but have patience. It's worth the wait to get a good contractor who everyone else wants to use too because you will rest assured that you're not getting ripped off and also that your foundation issue will be fixed the right way.
Schedule the company to come to your home to look at the foundation and give you an estimate. Many companies offer free estimates, so it's an opinion you pay nothing for. Worse case scenario, you get ideas and opinions from another person, which you pay nothing for. You're not under any obligation until you sign a contract, so make sure you don't sign anything you don't understand.
Listen to what the contractor tells you and always have another family member or friend with you if possible. Like buying a car, you may hear one thing and your friend may hear another. Bring a pad of paper and writing implement so you can take notes to help you remember what the contractor says. When you put your impressions together later, you're likely to have a more information-based and good decision.
After the appointment (it doesn't have to be the same day), sit down with the contractor's estimate and write down your concerns, questions and benefits you see to getting the foundation repair work done. Make a list of what you like and what you don't like about the repair and mark the ones that are most important to you. This helps steer you to topics that are important to you in your decision making process. If you're really stuck, talk it through with a friend or someone else who has your best interest at heart. Sometimes saying your thoughts aloud can help clarify your position.
It's nothing a little caulk from Home Depot can't cure you think to yourself. So you put the caulk in the crack and hope for the best. Maybe it stays put or maybe over time, the foundation keeps moving and the hardened caulk separates from the crack. Foundations can be frustrating and confusing to fix - who couldn't use a little help (in layman's terms!) in this seemingly cloistered industry, which homeowners don't seem to talk much about?
Foundation work is tricky in that it's what holds your home up, so you want it to be as sound as possible so your home doesn't come crashing down. Most foundation issues aren't that dramatic but my point stands nonetheless.
First, mark both sides of the crack width-wise and lengthwise with a marker. You may prefer to tape a piece of paper to the wall so there aren't permanent marks on the wall. Over the period of a few months, check on the marks to see if they have moved at all. This is some homework or evidence that you can arm yourself with to help be part of your foundation solution.
After you've marked the wall cracks, call a reputable foundation repair contractor. The good contractors may be booked out a few weeks in their schedule, but have patience. It's worth the wait to get a good contractor who everyone else wants to use too because you will rest assured that you're not getting ripped off and also that your foundation issue will be fixed the right way.
Schedule the company to come to your home to look at the foundation and give you an estimate. Many companies offer free estimates, so it's an opinion you pay nothing for. Worse case scenario, you get ideas and opinions from another person, which you pay nothing for. You're not under any obligation until you sign a contract, so make sure you don't sign anything you don't understand.
Listen to what the contractor tells you and always have another family member or friend with you if possible. Like buying a car, you may hear one thing and your friend may hear another. Bring a pad of paper and writing implement so you can take notes to help you remember what the contractor says. When you put your impressions together later, you're likely to have a more information-based and good decision.
After the appointment (it doesn't have to be the same day), sit down with the contractor's estimate and write down your concerns, questions and benefits you see to getting the foundation repair work done. Make a list of what you like and what you don't like about the repair and mark the ones that are most important to you. This helps steer you to topics that are important to you in your decision making process. If you're really stuck, talk it through with a friend or someone else who has your best interest at heart. Sometimes saying your thoughts aloud can help clarify your position.
