Our home is the symbol of our success and individuality. For some people, their homes are probably the biggest investment they’ll ever make. This is why it’s worth every penny to protect it from potential threats, because like anything worth having, being a homeowner comes with a fair share of responsibility.
There are plenty of ways to protect your home from certain risks and outdoor threats. Home insurance policies cover losses related to personal property, such as natural disasters, theft or loss of possessions, or other perils that can affect the value of a property. There’s also the home warranty that covers the associated costs of homeownership. Otherwise, if you want to improve the aesthetic appeal of your home and increase its home value, home improvements are the way to go.
For example, homes with concrete flooring systems rely on urethane sealers for concrete to achieve maximum durability and flexibility, even in tough environments.
If there’s one thing that can severely affect the value of your home, it would be foundation problems. The foundation keeps the house up and protects it from possible movements caused by storms, strong winds, and other inclement weather conditions. Major structural damage in your home can lead to serious issues such as cracks, injuries, lowered value, or death. In this case, it’s essential to be aware of other possible consequences of a compromised home foundation.
High utility bills
Most homes are designed to be airtight, with added weather stripping and insulation to cover small spaces or air gaps. But expensive soil or hydrostatic pressure can make excess moisture travel upward into other rooms, causing warps, crevices, cracks, or wall separations in the structure features.
Once the humid air coming from the basement and crawl space reach other living areas, this can cause pressure to the air conditioning unit or other HVAC systems to work much harder to balance the indoor temperature, resulting in costly utility bills.
Lost opportunity for a DIY solution
The most common cause of foundation damage stems from excessive water or moisture in the soil that surrounds your home. Failure to diagnose this problem at an early stage will require the help of a professional. But if you take the time to fix the water issue by yourself, you avoid the expensive cost of hiring someone else.
For instance, drainage issues, which are common causes of underground soil saturation, can be fixed by adding extra length to old gutters or repositioning and unclogging downspouts to keep them empty and redirect the flow of water away from your home. One example is installing a French drain, a DIY project to prevent surface or groundwater from damaging or penetrating building foundations.
Insect and pest infestation
These creepy crawlers prefer to breed and take shelter in humid and sheltered conditions. This explains why uninvited guests are often found in crawl spaces and basements that are dark, damp, and dank.
Pesky insects such as termites, mosquitoes, spiders, silverfish, carpenter ants, and other similar species are more destructive and disgusting than moths, particularly those traveling from the basement to upper living areas. If a severe infestation occurs, this will incur pest control fees apart from foundation servicing costs.
Mildew and mold invasion
Insects love the combination of moisture and dank darkness, but a wet subterranean environment makes way for mold and mildew to form. Like insects, fungal interlopers such as mold and mildew can lead to long-term physical damage to a home foundation.
Mold and mildew are common forms of household contaminants that cause asthma and allergy attacks, which can leave occupants feeling sick, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, and scratching. Allowing these m to gain a foothold on your home can lead to moisture issues or invasion of microbial scums.
Water damage
Wooden structural elements of a home are prone to water damage, a guaranteed issue once the crevices and cracks start appearing in foundation slabs or basement walls or when water contaminates the crawl space.
If you’re using the basement as your living space or storage room, every item you store in there will be affected once the water seeps in. Cracking and crumbling foundation leads to moisture penetration. If it goes on, the more likely it is to develop serious water damage.
Your home is your first line of defense against outdoor threats and other potential hazards. That’s why it makes sense to pay attention to its upkeep, particularly the foundation. Remember, a poor foundation can lead to all sorts of structural nightmares over time and even risk the life of your family members. So, if you spot the initial signs of trouble, always consult a home foundation professional.
