How Settlement Cracks Impact Your Home’s Structural Integrity

With the weather in recent years becoming more prone to extreme events, and parts of the eastern U.S.A. experiencing over 20 inches of rain in 12 hours sometimes, your foundations are going to need more regular checks. If settlement cracks start to form, you may be in for a lengthy and costly repair process if you do not handle them quickly.

Below, we explain why foundation cracks are so concerning, including:

• What they can cause
• How to find them
• Why they occur
• What you can do about them
• What we can do to protect your home

Keep reading to discover how to achieve long-term stability and reduce the need for regular home repairs.

What Settlement Cracks Mean for Structural Integrity

If foundation cracks have started to appear in the load paths, areas of your home that support its weight, it can quickly lead to a dangerous situation. These spaces reduce the capacity of your home’s load-bearing elements where they occur, making it more likely that the rest of your home will not be able to hold itself steady.

In the short term, they could lead to further damage and cracking. Given enough time, however, they may widen enough that these parts of your home will no longer be able to hold up your floor or roof.

There are several forms that these can take. Performing a crack inspection should reveal which one you have:

Stair-step or diagonal wall cracks mean that the soil around your home has started to move unevenly against itself.

Tiny surface cracks are usually cosmetic and often occur due to concrete curing, but if they worsen, you should pay attention.

Horizontal cracks in walls often indicate that the soil pressure has increased or the wall is starting to bow. If these occur, you should seek immediate resolution.

Uniform vertical cracks suggest either rotation or settlement in your soil. These often suggest that the soil cannot support the weight of the home. Fortunately, we know the best repair options for these.

Causes of Foundation Cracks and Structural Damage

Soil can move for a wide variety of different reasons, both natural and man-made. In many cases, this will be a natural cycle due to the seasons or other weather effects. However, it can sometimes occur because of nearby human action.

Soil and Moisture

Many clays will swell when filled with water, such as from rain. Even if not directly against your home, it can move the soil above it or to its side, causing an increase in pressure or the movement of the soil.

In much the same way, an elevated outdoor humidity can often raise the moisture content of wood in crawl spaces under your home. Not only can this potentially cause rot, but the wood can expand and stiffen, leading to shifting foundations, which can add to any settlement problem.

Movement Caused by Humans

Heavy additions to your home can often overstress existing foundations. These are not only due to placing something new atop them, but also, the foundations can shift if something atop them fills with water or other heavy material. This potential damage is why you often need a permit for construction in Virginia.

If you or a neighbor decides to perform any construction necessitating heavy equipment or jackhammers, the extra pressure and vibrations can quickly cause hairline cracks as your home’s material shifts against itself.

If your home’s soil is not well-compacted during construction, you will often find many of these issues are exacerbated.

When Foundation Cracks Signal Structural Damage

Structural damage will reduce a building’s capacity and stability. So, watch for visual evidence that this is occurring, and measure any cracks to ensure that they do not become a problem.

Some of the signs that will need fast action include:

• Horizontal cracks
• Concrete detaching from the wall
• Cracks mirrored inside and outside
• Recurring leaks as water intrudes into the house
• Sudden floor sloping
• New gaps between cabinets and countertops

If you detect any of these, call a licensed contractor such as BAY Crawl Space & Foundation Repair. We will be able to advise you on your next steps and ensure you remain safe.

How Professionals Help With Home Repairs

Experts such as the award-winning team at BAY Crawl Space & Foundation Repair can offer you a free inspection of your home. They will test dozens of aspects, such as:

• Moisture readings
• Gutter and downspout effectiveness
• Floor and subfloor conditions
• Drainage inspections
• Crack evaluation

After they do this, you will receive options for your next steps. These may include simply monitoring the area of your home or controlling the moisture in the area, or it could encompass structural repair to ensure your home remains safe to reside in.

Any repair process will focus first on the cause of the issue, to allow any subsequent steps to function better. Then, if you’d like an improvement to the look of your foundations, the engineers can perform cosmetic steps to make your home look as close to new as possible.

How to Protect Building Integrity

If you don’t need to call in any engineers yet, make sure to take sensible steps to look after your home. Some of the best ways to do this include:

• Scheduling an annual exterior checkup around the wettest season
• Watering any garden evenly to avoid shifting movement
• Keeping your gutters clean
• Extending your roof’s downspouts away from the foundations
• Maintaining soil that slopes away from the home for several feet

You may need to perform these checks multiple times if you experience drought or severe rainfall. So, make sure that you conduct your due diligence each time, much as we do when called upon.

Expert Foundation Repair Around Virginia

While some settlement cracks may be common, their growth or continued shifting will need you to take prompt action. Make sure that you measure their size, then if you are not one-hundred-percent certain of your engineering capabilities, contact us at BAY Crawl Space and Foundation Repair for a free estimate.

After winning the Best of Coastal Virginia Gold Award for Best Foundation Repair, is there anyone else you’re going to trust to perform the best work?