Having to deal with issues with your home’s foundation can be a real headache. And while there are some things that you can’t really plan for that could mess with the foundation of your home, like settling or damage from natural disasters like earthquakes, there are many things that you can do with regards to the maintenance of your foundation to help ensure that everything stays in tip-top shape.
To help you learn what hazards could be dangerous to your home and better prepare for how to avoid them, here are three things that can cause big problems for your home’s foundation and how to protect against them.
Too Much Water Around Your Home
While having the right amount of water in your area and around your property can ensure that your plants thrive and that the ground is able to absorb water when it rains, having too much water in any area can cause a lot of damage, including to your home’s foundation. Knowing this, you should take steps to ensure that standing water isn’t able to pool around your home and cause damage to your property.
Water can be especially damaging to your foundation if it already has hairline cracks in it. If these cracks get water in them, they can make the cracks bigger and more disruptive. Additionally, if pests like moles have been digging around your property, they can make it so water more easily is able to get to your foundation and cause problems. With these things in mind, you should seek to fill any larger cracks that you see in your foundation and get pest issues dealt with as soon as you realize what’s going on and keep water from making the problems worse.
Vegetation That’s Too Close
Another way that your home’s foundation can get damaged is if vegetation starts growing too close to your home and damages your foundation. Roots can move quickly and be strong enough to break up a foundation, so you’ll want to do your best to keep roots and other vegetation from getting the chance to cause these kinds of issues.
To keep this from happening to the foundation of your home, you’ll want to be very careful about any trees or other vegetation that is close to your home. Try to keep plants away from being right up next to the foundation and make sure you keep an eye on trees and how their root systems are growing under your property.
General Disrepair
Any general damage or disrepair that befalls your home and foundation can spiral out of control and create big issues for your foundation. So if you notice things like pests, mold, issues with your drywall inside of your home, or cracks that cause splits in your foundation, make sure you get these things looked at and dealt with quickly so that the issues don’t compound and create bigger problems that could damage your foundation badly.
If you want to best protect your home and its foundation from damage, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you see how this can best be done.