Foundation Repair in Burke
Burke, Virginia has become an up and coming neighborhood for people to settle down and raise a family. Named after a 19th century merchant/politician Silas Burke, the area consists of lands topped with red soil as well as manmade lakes and ponds. Burke Lake Park, one of the area’s premiere location, features a beautiful golf course alongside Burke’s largest manmade lake.
Foundation repair in Burke has become commonly requested by families within the area. Cracks in the foundation have been reported on homes, attributed to the red soil these Virginia homes are built on. The soil’s ability to absorb high amounts of moisture causes the foundation to become weak, resulting in cracked areas that allow water to enter your structure. Poor soil compaction and waterproofing problems are other factors that can cause issues. If your foundation is in jeopardy, make sure you contact a foundation repair and waterproofing professional to fix your situation.
Inspect Your Foundation
In order to determine if you need foundation repair in your Burke home, perform a small inspection around your property. The first step should be inspecting the foundation itself. This underlying support is meant to last, and should not show any signs of structural damages at any point. Vertical, horizontal, diagonal, or zigzagging cracks are never a good sign. Other problems to look out for are the sloping of foundation floors or walls, the crumbling or flaking of concrete, and any moisture that can contribute to the growth of mold. This inspection needs to be done on both the outside and inside of your foundation to ensure nothing is wrong.
Improper Water Drainage
One of the leading causes for foundation repair in Burke residences is water damage due to improper drainage. The soil around the home can expand and contract due to the various amounts of water and temperatures throughout the year. These drastic changes can lead to unnatural soil shifting, which can place an enormous amount of pressure on the underlying foundation. Improper water drainage is also a clear indicator that foundation damage has already occurred. Cracks in the foundation can direct water to lower levels of soil, resulting in an extreme buildup around the property. Water damage is something that requires immediate intervention. In order to spot this problem, it’s important to inspect the soil around your property to see if it’s unnaturally wet (when no rain had fallen recently) or unusually dry (following a heavy rainfall or after you watered the lawn with a garden hose).
While this can provide you with valuable insight into your property, there are other things you can do to make sure that water damage and improper drainage don’t exist in other parts of the home. In addition to the inspection around the property, homeowners should check for invisible leaks by shutting off all water-based appliances (spigots, faucets, etc.), noting the exact readout on you water meter, and then checking 6-12 hours later to see if there was a change to the water meter reading. If there was a change, this can mean that there is a leak behind the wall or underneath the floor. This problem requires immediate assistance from a foundation repair expert.
Warped Ceilings And Sagging Floors
Foundation repair in Burke homes can also be needed in the upper levels of your home. Damages in the foundation can often travel, resulting in the whole house being damaged in some way. This often comes in the form of warped ceilings or sagging floors. You should also be on the lookout for any exposed gaps between the interior walls and the floor or ceiling. Using a level tool, you can make sure that the slope is consistent on each floor and ceiling.
Contacting A Foundation Repair Professional
Foundation repair in Burke homes can be an extremely serious issue if not addressed right away. Not only will it cost you tremendous amounts of money, but it will lessen the value of your property, and potentially put you and your family at risk of something tragic. When dealing with a matter as serious as this, it’s important to contact a local and reputable foundation repair company to come and find the solution that works best for you. Companies that aren’t familiar with the area may provide a solution that doesn’t totally fix the problem, costing you an unnecessary amount of money and failing to do what it set out to accomplish. Therefore, make the right call and contact our business today. Having done work in the area for over 28 years, this family owned and operated business understands the foundation repair process inside and out.