Preserving your property is the only way to protect the value of your investment as a home owner, and that means you need to understand the threats to your home so you can address them before they actually threaten you. One of the biggest treats that homeowners regularly underestimate is foundation cracking, but once you understand how they affect your home, you’ll want to address foundation cracks Tulsa OK as soon as they come up.
More Than Just a Sign of Age
Foundation cracking is seen by many as a natural process when buildings age, just like settling or seeing patina on the fixtures and woodwork. It’s not supposed to be one, though, because buildings need a secure and solid foundation to remain safe and habitable. When the foundation cracks, moisture has the ability to seep in whenever there are heavy rains, pests can enter through tunneling on the other side of the foundation, and the stability of the building materials over the crack is affected. While small foundation cracks typically only lead to moisture issues, most cracks don’t stay small, they only start out that way.
Once a foundation has cracked, the stresses that caused the crack do not magically go away, they keep acting on the building. They’ve got a start on the damage, though, and like the process of erosion by a riverbed, the moisture coming in can do more damage, leading to a larger crack and even greater foundation instability. Eventually, cracks will become serious. It can take a long time in some cases, but it’s not a risk with a predictable time frame, so homeowners are better served by addressing it right away.
Grading and Other Additional Prevention Measures
After you have addressed the foundation damage, consider how your property’s geography works for or against your home’s architecture. Re-grading the slope of the property near the home can help prevent the build-up of water that puts pressure on foundations, and other changes might also help. Remember, every time you make your property stronger and better, you also increase its value.
