Every home is built on a foundation of concrete and slab, and building that foundation is the first step for building any house today in the United States. A good foundation will not need much foundation repair over its lifetime, and it will keep the house and the basement secure and safe. By contrast, a foundation repair contractor may be needed when foundation failure happens, and some work may be needed if cracks or other faults in the foundation and basement allow water or radon gas to get into the basement and wreak havoc. A foundation repair contractor may also be contacted if an earthquake has damaged the basement and foundation, and online searches such as “Austin foundation repair” for residents of Austin, Texas, or “foundation repair contractor Dallas TX”, as another example. What are some common issues that may threaten a foundation or basement, and when should foundation repair services be called in? A foundation repair contractor can do a lot of good for an afflicted basement.
Problems With the Basement and Foundation
Texan homes built within the past 50 years as of this writing are built with slab foundati9on, and this may give them an advantage over older models, but many different problems may arise in a basement anywhere in the nation and require the assistance of a foundation repair contractor. One such problem is water. If water starts building up in the basement, it can spur the growth of mold with all that extra moisture, and molds can release harmful spores and other biological elements into the house’s air. This can set off allergies or asthma, and can generally threaten the health of people and pets inside the home. Water can also damage items being stored in the basement upon contact, and water may also erode the concrete and other materials as long as it’s still there. Water may find ingress through the foundation if it is faulty, and rainwater can add up fast. This will be especially true in areas prone to flash flooding during heavy rain, and a lot of water may leak in within hours. Even leaking pipes can drip enough water to cause a problem, given enough time.
Another issue with the foundation is radon gas. This radioactive gas may not come to mind as a household problem, but it is, and this can be deadly. Radon gas emits upwards from the ground, and a faulty foundation may have cracks that allow a lot of radon gas to get into the home, and it will gradually build up in concentration in the air. Radon gas can cause mild health issues at first such as chest pain and nausea, but given enough time, enough radon gas may accumulate to rapidly increase rates of lung cancer. Unfortunately, thousands of Americans perish every year because of radon gas-induced lung cancer. What can be done about water or radon?
Get the Repairs
A homeowner with leaking water or the suspicion of radon gas can look up a local foundation repair contractor, or several of them, and compare and contrast their credentials, work history, and customer reviews to find the best crew for the job, and they can take care of issues in the foundation and basement, while plumbers can fix pipes that are leaking water into the basement. Foundation contractors, for their part, can update and seal the foundation so that rainwater does not get into the home so easily, and they can also seal up and fill the cracks that are the result of water damage, and sealing faults in the foundation can also help prevent too much radon gas from leaking into the home’s air. Water can also be dealt with when a sump pump is installed. This pump will draw up standing water in the basement and get rid of it, and channels can be installed to force loose water toward the pump.
A homeowner can buy a radon test kit from a hardware store and let it collect air samples, then transmit this data. Professionals will contact the kit’s owner about the air quality, and if radon concentrations are dangerously high, the homeowner must cycle out the home’s air so that radon levels are brought back below the action level.
