Your home's foundation must stay in good shape; if it isn't in good shape, the rest of your home could be in deep trouble. Your foundation stops the house from compacting soil and tilting if that soil becomes too waterlogged to hold up the house. According to This Old House, an average home weighs about 50 tons. To hold up that much weight, the foundation has to be protected and fixed as soon as any problems are detected. Here's what you need to know about your foundation

Tree Roots Are Its Enemy

You'd think a concrete foundation would be tougher than anything that could run up against it, but tree roots can really harm a house's foundation. Aggressive tree roots can wedge themselves into small cracks and pry the concrete of the foundation apart over time, and they can grow under the foundation and affect its stability. Trees with wide-spreading roots need to be moved away from the house, and then you'd need to call a company for foundation wall repair to get the foundation back into shape.

Settling Is Normal But Causes Issues

When your house was built, the soil around the foundation was packed tightly to prevent too much settling and to make the area more stable. Still, some minor settling is common, and usually, it's not a problem. However, sometimes that little bit of settling can cause door frames to be slightly off, jamming doors. Window frames can be affected, too, making it harder to open and close windows. You can call separate door and window repair companies, of course, but you'll also want to call for foundation wall repair to fix underlying issues before they affect more of your house.

Erosion After Floods Is Sneaky

After tree roots, erosion is probably one of the worst enemies of foundations. When there is a lot of rain or flooding, the water can carry the soil away. That destabilizes the foundation, and if the foundation cracks, the house is in major trouble. When there has been a lot of rain, get the foundation inspected to ensure it's still stable.

Call for foundation wall repair now if you suspect that your home's foundation isn't sitting on stable soil. If you notice cracks or have issues opening and closing doors and windows, you may have a foundation issue and need to take care of it fast. Contact Schlosser Construction today for assistance.