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Your foundation is extremely important, but your foundation can start to fail. One sign of this is cracks, so explore these four types of foundation cracks.

A home's foundation is often overlooked when it comes to property management, yet it plays a vital role in maintaining the integrity of your home overall. A poorly functioning or damaged foundation can lead to the development of cracks in the drywall, broken and uneven tiles, damaged wood flooring, and even crooked windows and doors. Following are a few things you can do to keep your home's foundation in optimal condition in the years to come. 

Your home is your most important possession. As a homeowner, you want to keep it well maintained during every season of the year. You clean your home, patch and paint interior and exterior walls, repair plumbing, fix electrical problems, winterize your windows, check your smoke detector annually and much more. Another area that you should monitor to maintain and care for your residence is your home's foundation. Settling and movement in your home's foundation can be subtle and difficult to detect. Here are some indicators that can be symptomatic of a potential problem with your house foundation. 

Your windows and doors are sticking. You might wonder if the problem is from humidity or a problem with the frames. Before you assume that the issue is with the doors and windows themselves, take a look at what is going on with your foundation. Foundation problems have several different symptoms, including doors and windows that stick. While you can see obvious signs of a crumbling or sinking foundation such as clear cracks or uneven floors, some issues aren't as obvious. Sticking doors and windows tend to fall under the less noticeable category. One door that sticks or a window that doesn't open every once in a while might not have anything to do with your foundation. But constant sticking is a potential. How can you tell the difference between a minor situation and something that indicates a major structural problem? All homeowners need to know about how sticking doors and windows might be caused by the building's foundation. 

Noticeable cracks, uneven floors, windows that stick, and doors that just don't close right can all cause headaches for homeowners. Foundation issues aren't exactly DIY jobs and shouldn't be taken lightly. Even though no homeowner wants to have a foundation problem, getting the repair done right the first time around is absolutely essential. The job requires a professional who has expert knowledge in foundation problems, knows how to make the repairs needed, and is more than just familiar with the area. Along with having the know-how to get the job done, you also want someone who is a complete professional, provides reasonable and cost-effective solutions, and answers all of the questions that you'll have as you go through the repair process.  How do you know which foundation contractor is right for you and your home? Take a look at some of the top factors to consider.

Cracks in your walls can be normal, albeit annoying. You want your house to look good, and the last thing you need is a bunch of cracks making your house look like it's ready to keel over. These cracks have a few possible causes, and the cause is often linked to the location of the cracks or the direction the cracks run in. Sometimes you just have to live with and fix these cracks over time, but other cracks are signs you need professionals to evaluate what's really going on with your house. Cracks in the Trim Cracks that are in only the trim around your doors and windows are often from humidity causing material, especially wood, to swell and contract. If that happens enough, the trim can crack near its edge and create a gap. These cracks are merely cosmetic, but you'll want to fill them to keep the house looking good. If the cracks are inside, regulate your home's humidity, especially in dry winter months and very humid summer months, to slow or stop those gaps from forming. If the cracks are outside, though, you may just have to inspect the trim around your doors and windows periodically and fill cracks as you find them. Cracks in the Walls It's a different story if the cracks are in the walls by the doors and windows, and not just in the trim. Those types of cracks indicate some sort of shift in the house itself. The danger with shifting is that you don't know how bad the situation is unless a foundation company checks out the damage. Sometimes a small crack in a wall is just in the top drywall layer - a cosmetic issue. But that small crack that you see could be hiding a larger, more severe crack underneath. In other words, the crack has been growing for a while, and the drywall was the last part of the wall to split. Diagonal cracks, especially if they are large and in foundation walls, are a sign that your house needs attention quickly. These can stem from foundation problems that have led to the house shifting. This shifting is different from house settling. When your house settles, it compresses the soil underneath in tiny increments. Stable foundations technically shouldn't settle because the soil is supposed to be prepared well, but minor settling can still happen. Settling can lead to small cracks around the doors and windows, as well as windows and doors becoming tough to open or close, a.k.a. sticking. But other soil phenomena can lead to foundation and house shifting, and those can really do some damage. Southeast Texas is not immune to freezes and even snow, and that means the soil can freeze, resulting in frost heave. That's when the ice forming in the soil expands and pushes up the foundation of the house. Your foundation needs to extend below the frost line, and that's something a foundation repair company can handle. Another soil issue in Southeast Texas is the expansion and contraction of clay soils. True to Gulf Coast Texas weather, the region can have droughts and deluges at any time of the year. Moisture makes clay soils expand greatly; drought makes them dry up and crack. In both cases, the result is a foundation shifting as the soils move. When you see cracks around your doors and windows that don't appear to be in the trim only, it's time to call the experts at Bonilla Foundation Repair . Let us inspect your home so that we can catch any forming foundation problems before they get worse.

Home repairs are a vital part of home ownership. However, there are few places where repairs are more critical than the foundation. If your home's foundation is damaged, then repairs are essential. Learn about some of the problems that can occur when you ignore foundation problems. 1. Structural Damage The foundation earns its name for good reason; it is the support base of the entire building. When the integrity of the foundation is weakened, the overall integrity of the structure is also weakened. Doors will no longer close easily, windows may not open, and cracks may appear in walls in a home. In a brick home, the mortar may start to separate from the building's framing. Damage isn't just unsightly but is also dangerous when ignored. For example, for a home with a chimney, foundation damage could cause the chimney to fall to the ground without warning. 2. Pest Infestations Aside from eating, insects have one other important goal: to nest. A location out in the open where predators can easily attack is not the ideal situation. However, the dark and moist environment created by the crack in your foundation is. When insects start to create nests in your foundation, their offspring will not merely stay in the foundation; they will eventually make their way into the living spaces of your home. Even with professional extermination, your efforts won't likely be successful until you have the damage repaired. Some insects carry harmful bacteria, so providing a way for these insects to get inside your home is never a good idea. 3. Mold and Mildew Growth When there is a crack in the foundation, moisture from the soil is given the chance to settle inside the foundation. The humidity from the moisture can travel beyond the foundation and lead to mold and mildew growth throughout your home. Exposure to mold can cause common allergic reactions like a runny nose, watery eyes, and a rash, but exposure can also create more severe symptoms, including shortness of breath. One factor that makes mold so dangerous is that it's not always visible. For example, it may form on the underside of a floor. 4. Lower Home Value Homebuyers are not looking to purchase a headache. The typical buyer wants a property that is move-in ready, comfortable, and safe. A home with serious foundation issues is none of those things. If you're planning to sell your home and you have neglected repairs, the value of your home has decreased, and not just by a little. On average, you can expect your home's value to be slashed by anywhere between 10 and 15 percent. If you don't think that's a lot, for a home valued at $325,000, that's a loss of upwards of $32,500. 5. Higher Repairs Several home maintenance issues are on a gradual incline, which means they start off small and gradually become more severe with time. A crack may start off as a relatively minor fix, but with time, the crack will spread and deepen, leading to a more involved repair process. Not only is the repair more time-consuming, but it will also become far costlier. If you have shied away from a repair because you don't have the patience to deal with it now, just know that a year from now, the idea of a repair will only be more stressful. If you're anything like the average person, pest infestations, structural concerns, and other problems are the last thing you want to experience in your home. Take steps to avoid problems by making foundation repairs and maintenance a top priority. If you have foundation damage, trust Bonilla Foundation Repair to work quickly to identify and repair the problem for you.

Foundation repair can cost thousands of dollars, but it's also unavoidable if you have damage. Foundation damage will lead to significant structural damage over time. It can even lead to a home becoming dangerous. If you can get your insurance company to pay for your repairs, it's a bonus. However, the situation may be more complicated than it seems. 

Foundations often have problems that every homeowner needs to stay on top of. Learn five component of foundation care that will keep yours free of damage.