Foundation Repair Bel Air

California may have the more famous Bel Air, but Bel Air Maryland is still a desirable place to live in its own right, having forged a reputation as a safe, nurturing place for families to grow up together. The rich history of Bel Air includes fires that didn’t keep the town down, and a proud legacy of standing up for the right causes, like fighting racism in the 20th century. This is a town of values, and even if the Ma and Pa railway of old is now a walking trail for families, that rich history lives on in the proud residents of the town.

But one thing that Bel Air residents might not be aware of is that for all the benefits they enjoy from living in this part of Maryland, there may be a big problem slowly, patiently growing right under their feet. It’s not an issue that many people think about, but when it becomes a problem, it’s usually a big one. And that’s why foundation repair in Bel Air is an essential service.

A Problem Underfoot

The foundation of a home isn’t really something many people give a lot of thought to. It’s not high on the list of flashy, architectural features that people notice, nor should it be. The foundation is, as the name says, is the thing that everything else, including the entire house, sits on. It may be the pit that was excavated to build in a basement with a solid slab of concrete followed by walls and other reinforcements, or simply the base that was built on top of the soil from which the rest of the home arose. Whichever the case, the function of the foundation is simple; to provide a solid base on which a house can evenly distribute its weight for a stable living experience that, ideally, no one should ever notice.

The problem is, sometimes, this doesn’t go as planned, and when a foundation does become damaged, it can have profound, negative effects on a home. In some cases it can even get bad enough to endanger the structure itself and the people that live in it. Once that happens, an expert in foundation repair in Bel Air is the only true solution.

Slow Acting Damage

The function of the foundation is, literally, to hold up the home. This means that anything that affects the foundation will inevitably have consequences for the entire home on a long enough timeline. A home can actually tilt in one direction, parts of the home drift away from other parts, literally tearing the home apart over years and decades, or parts of a home can begin to sink causing uneven floors, crooked door or window frames and putting stress on load bearing beams or other structural features that weren’t intended to endure those forces for such sustained periods of time.

This kind of damage is extremely difficult for people to discern simply because of the pace at which it works, which is geological. Most people aren’t going to even know this kind of “attack” is happening to a foundation until they finally notice the consequences one day, such as cracks in the wall, or doors that no longer snugly fit in their frame. Unfortunately, if the damage has reached the point that it’s already this visible, it means the foundation has been suffering a long time; years, perhaps even decades. It’s the kind of assessment that an expert in foundation repair in Bel Air would be able to help with, even before this stage.

How The Damage Happens

While some damage to a foundation may be because of poor construction, in most instances, the damage is not the fault of the people who built the home. In many situations foundation damage arises through circumstances that the original builders couldn’t have envisioned, like changes in the environment or soil due to shifting climates, or other erosive forces.

In most homes, especially modern ones, a foundation is usually a basement. This is a layer of concrete, forming the basement floor, supported by additional beams and walls. The basement floor, however, is initially poured over solid dirt. That dirt is, of course, just regular soil, and like any other soil, it can move or shift if subjected to the right forces. Erosion can make the soil a foundation sits on move away, causing parts of that foundation to hang over empty space. When that happens, the weight of the home is redistributed to other parts of the house, and this unequal sharing of forces continues, unchecked, for years, without a professional assessment from an expert in foundation repair in Bel Air.
“Frost heaving” is another natural phenomenon that takes years to notice. It occurs when water gets into several layers of soil as winter draws near. When the temperature drops below the freezing point, water turns to ice and, just like in an ice cube, will expand. However, because it is surrounded by soil, this can “squeeze” the foundation of a home, actually lifting it up by tiny amounts. When spring returns, the temperature warms up and the water melts, causing the foundation to sink back down, but it may not land back on its original spot. Over several years of this, the freezing soil “heaves” the foundation out of place, and once again causes problems for a home because the weight that was once equally distributed throughout, is now being forced into certain areas to compensate.

Call In The Experts

A foundation problem isn’t going to be fixed with a do-it-yourself solution. Experts in foundation repair in Bel Air are the only real solution to a problem on this scale. Fortunately, AA Action Waterproofing is the team you need. We bring our decades of experience to foundation repair in Bel Air, and with a comprehensive assessment, we can locate the issues with your foundation and make a recommendation on how to solve the problem. Contact us today to see how we can help you.