Are You Hurting Your Foundation?
Most of the time when we talk about a home having leaking problems, or sustaining damage to the foundation, we discuss natural causes. Frost heaving over the years can shift a foundation, while soil composition can sometimes play a role in depositing too much water near a basement, thus causing leaks.
But sometimes, the causes of this type of problem aren’t naturally occurring, they’re actually caused by the homeowners themselves. Here are a few of the things that can unintentionally cause a problem with your home that will require foundation repair or basement waterproofing.
Careless Renovation
A responsible contractor will tell a homeowner when an idea is structurally unsound, but some homeowners may be insistent. Sometimes a major renovation may entail tearing down a wall because the owners prefer a more modern, open concept design. Some walls are designed to provide support or be load bearing. Tearing down these walls shifts the distribution of weight for the entire home. If it places that force in areas it shouldn’t go, this begins the slow, inevitable decay of the foundation.
Poor Swimming Pool Installation
A swimming pool can be a fantastic investment for the home, and great deal of fun for the entire family. But a pool that’s not built with proper consideration for the effects of the home can cause a lot of problems in the long run. A pool is constructed to be as water tight as possible, but the sheer volume of water in a swimming pool means that some leakage will occur as a result of physics.
Proximity to the foundation of a home means that water will be constantly migrating towards the home as well. The types of soil in the area you live in may or may not be extremely absorbent. If they are absorbent, then this water build up can eventually create even more pressure that your foundation must endure. Always ensure that if you have a swimming pool, it is built both a respectable distance away from your home’s foundation, and is properly built with appropriate water tight safeguards.