Foundation Repair Glenarden
Glenarden may not be the biggest or oldest town in Maryland, but it’s still a proud and important part of the state with a rich history of diversity and black awareness and culture. This is a town that understands and respects integration and racial harmony, and will continue to celebrate these values with landmarks like Theresa Banks Aquatic Center and the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center. And it’s a good place to live, with good schools, friendly people and local dining favorites like the Copper Canyon Grill continuing to keep locals and travelers alike happy with tasty, carefully prepared classics.
However, Glenarden, just like many towns and cities in Maryland, has a problem that can potentially afflict many residents. The circumstances differ from home to home, but one thing is for sure; if there is a problem with the foundation of a home, it needs to be fixed. And that’s when you need to call in some kind of foundation repair in Glenarden service.
Slow Damage
Most of the time people don’t even think about their foundations at all. The foundation is, after all, the base, the literal foundation upon which the rest of the house sits. People regard as a massive, immobile thing that just sits there, unchanging, for years. In some cases, this may be true.
In others, this is hardly the case.
All homes are in different geological situations. Some homes have a foundation that is part of a basement. Others don’t. Some homes are built on soil that remains largely steady and stable. Others have soil that, over the years and decades, actually shifts. Some homes are situated in an environment where the soil does a good job of absorbing the rain and snow, while other homes will have soil that “moves” that extra absorbed moisture towards the home.
Any combination of these factors can result in one thing; given enough time, they can affect the foundation of your home, and this can affect the wellbeing of the structure of the home itself. However, because this is a slow, geological process that can take years—or even decades in some cases—this is not a problem that many people are going to be aware of. It’s one of the reasons why foundation repair in Glenarden requires experienced companies, with people that are familiar with the much slower process at work and how it can damage homes.
How A Foundation Is Damaged
The foundation of your home is the architectural element that is designed to take the weight of the entire home that is built on top of it, and spread that weight as evenly as possible throughout the space so that the home remains stable. In modern homes of the 20th and 21st century, this is usually accomplished through pouring a solid slab of concrete underground that is supported by concrete beams. For most homeowners, this is why the basement space exists, as the foundation literally is the base of the basement itself.
As time passes, the structural integrity of the foundation may change for a number of reasons. For example, concrete itself is a porous material, meaning that it has a lot of tiny spaces inside it. If too much water comes in contact with the concrete foundation, that water leak through and into the basement itself, which can then cause mold growth, possible water damage and whole host of other problems including flooding.
On the other hand, the foundation itself may start to move in different directions. This is because even with the concrete poured out, the foundation is still sitting on soil, and years of weathering can cause the soil to move. It happens slowly, in tiny increments, but given enough time, your foundation can actually shift, and when it does, the weight is now unevenly distributed. This slowly gives rise to some parts of your foundation tilting or sinking while other portions do not. If you’ve ever seen a home with uneven floors, or cracked basement walls, these are symptoms of this shift.
How To Fix The Problem
One of the best ways to address a foundation problem is to tackle it before it even happens. Waterproofing your foundation, for example, is best done if you are building a new home and have yet to move in. This is because it’s an extensive process that is much easier—and less intrusive—to perform as a home is being built and the foundation is still being laid out.
Of course, this is not a luxury people have if they’ve been living in a home for years, or have moved into an older home only to discover the problem. Foundation repair, whether it is repairing a crawl space, fixing cracks, or stabilizing foundation walls is an extensive process. You need to work with a seasoned foundation repair Glenarden team, in order to get the best results.
The process begins with an initial inspection where an expert arrives to assess the situation, taking note of the visible structural problems and tracking down what is the cause. Once that’s been determined, the repair process can be outlined as well as the cost. In some cases, a crack in cement may be repaired by simply filling it in with hydraulic cement. Other repairs may be much more comprehensive and involve excavation around the home.
Whatever the final result is, making sure these problems are addressed is key to the long health and life of a home. If you think you may have foundation problems, or are concerned about them in the future, contact a team for foundation repair in Glenarden like AA Action Waterproofing. We’re more than happy to help.