The list of potentially expensive home repairs is long and frightening. For near homeowners, house foundation issues top that list, and for good reason. The average cost of foundation repairs can exist betwixt $five,000 and $7,000 and can climb even higher if the issues damage other parts of your home. Knowing how to detect foundation problems early is a crucial role of preventative home maintenance.

Identifying cracks in walls, floors and ceilings is of import when assessing potential foundation damage. But just because you lot can't see a scissure doesn't mean one isn't there – or that it isn't coming. Paranoid however? Fourth dimension to put your mind at ease. Hither are nine means to check your home for signs of foundation bug.

How to Spot Foundation Issues Around the House

Man's Hand Opening Window

1. Test Doors and Windows

Sometimes, a stubborn window just calls for a little WD-40. Simply if you're noticing a few of your windows and doors getting tougher to close, it could be a sign of foundation problems. As an unstable foundation shifts, it tin distort the shape of the frames, making the doors and windows unable to latch and eventually jam entirely.

2. Look for Sagging Floors or Ceilings

Warped floors and ceilings tin too exist warning signs of foundation bug. As a home's foundation moves, it pulls apart or compacts walls and support beams. These shifts tin cause the weight of the business firm to sit unevenly in certain spots, resulting in sagging floors and ceilings. A telltale sign of foundation issues is a slanted floor, and then use a level to monitor your habitation's slope from time to time. If you observe continual change in one management, it may be time to call a professional person.

three. Investigate Those Musty Smells in the Basement

That familiar, musty smell in basement corners and crawlspaces tin can actually spell trouble for your foundation. The odor itself is usually mildew and could be due to leaking basement walls. The problem could be plumbing related, only it can as well exist caused by outside moisture seeping in through cracks in your foundation.

Blocked gutters are often a major culprit in basement-related foundation problems, and so while yous're at information technology, give your gutters a once-over to exist sure they're properly protecting your home. If your gutters are articulate but you're still having bug with a clammy basement, sometimes all information technology takes is a piffling redirection, co-ordinate to the foundation repair experts at Acculevel:

Acculevel Foundation Repair Experts

"Installing downspout extensions will help to motion water away from the home's foundation. These should be at least 10 anxiety abroad from the dwelling house. Additionally, check your sump pump regularly. Clean whatsoever debris establish in or effectually it and test the battery fill-in monthly to avert water in your basement."

Jenna Wertz | Acculevel, Inc.

Closeup on Mold in Corner of Window Frame

4. Audit Sources of Mold

As with mildew in the basement, recurring mold in the corners of windows and walls ways that wet is accumulating in your home. Before breaking out the dehumidifier, check mold-prone areas to dominion out any foundation-related cracks and gaps that could exist letting in water.

5. Check for Gaps Betwixt Exterior Windows and Walls

If y'all start to find gaps betwixt your façade and your front door and windows, information technology could mean that a shifting foundation is pulling them apart. These gaps can allow h2o and insects like termites into the walls of your home, causing even more than structural damage in the long run.

six. Examine Any Bowed Walls

If you detect interior or exterior walls beginning to bow, information technology may exist a sign that your home'southward foundation is on the move. However, don't mistake a paint blister for bowing. These can be a sign of heat or h2o damage to your paint and drywall, and while they tin can require urgent attention, they are usually non related to foundation issues.

Brick Chimney on Terracotta Roof in Front of Partly Cloudy Skies

7. Pay Attention to Your Chimney

Chimney movement is another telltale sign of foundation issues. If your chimney shifts as well much, it can collapse entirely, posing a serious threat to your family and your property. If yous detect your chimney looking a little off-kilter, call a professional immediately to go it repaired and stabilized.

8. Await for Nails Popping Out of Drywall

Nail pops are small, circular cracks in your walls where nails have begun to pull away from the sheetrock. They're an easy set simply if they occur often, information technology could exist due to wall movement, a sign of larger foundation problems.

Stair-Step Crack in Red Brick Wall

9. Diagnose Any Cracks in the Wall or Floor

Finally, the well-nigh telling signs of foundation problems are cracks in the walls and floors of your home. Not all cracks are due to serious foundation issues – minor cracks nearly window and door frames are typically caused by normal seasonal expansion of the drywall and underlying forest. These are cosmetic hairline cracks and can be easily repaired with spackling paste.

Call an adept if you come across a crack that is:

  • More than than i-eighth of an inch wide.
  • Wide on one end and narrow on the other.
  • Horizontal or at a 45-degree angle.
  • Leaking water.
  • A stair-footstep cleft (pictured above) on interior or exterior walls.

Above all, e'er keep an middle on whatever cracks in walls or floors of your dwelling. According to the professionals at Acculevel, cracks – especially those in door frames and window frames – should exist "measured every other calendar month to brand sure they are non growing in size."

If you begin to notice new cracks that appear deeper than your pigment or drywall, or cracks in concrete flooring, accept your home inspected right away to stave off any further plush amercement.

When All Else Fails, Contact a Professional

When it comes to foundation issues, it'southward better to exist safe than sad. Left unchecked, an unstable foundation only becomes more expensive and hard to gear up over time. If your home exhibits any of these signs of foundation bug, information technology may exist all-time to telephone call a professional to put your listen – and potentially your wallet – at ease.

Wondering what foundation repairs your home might need? Check out Acculevel's home foundation symptom checker to see how a professional can help.

Looking to do more preventative domicile maintenance? Check out these posts to stay alee of other costly repairs:

Did nosotros miss any big signs of foundation issues? Let u.s. know beneath!