There are dozens of myths about the foundation repair industry that keep smart homeowners from fixing their foundations. Let’s dispel some of those myths here and now so you can keep your home as safe – and dry – as possible.
Overwatering Can Damage Your Foundation
You’ve spent so much time cultivating the beautiful landscaping surrounding your home. Now it turns out that if you use just a little too much water on your plants, you might crack your foundation. What are you supposed to do?
This myth is one of the sillier ones, but it’s based on genuine concern. The good news is that no, you won’t crack your foundation or otherwise damage it if you happen to overwater your hydrangeas. In fact, the flowers and shrubs you keep close to your home actually serve as a natural waterproofing barrier. The root systems near your home – as long as they’re not extensive – will absorb the water that would otherwise damage your foundation.
Not only that but when you water the plants around your home, you keep the soil healthy and flood-prepared. How? When Orlando, FL, goes without rain for a while, the soil in the area shrinks. When it does finally rain again, your soil won’t be able to absorb as much of it as it normally would. As a result, more water will be able to reach your foundation.
What’s the moral, then? Keep on watering your perimeter, and don’t worry – a little overwatering will have more of an impact on your plants than it will on your foundation.
You Can Fix a Leak By Filling It
So you’ve spotted a leak in your home. That’s no big deal, right? Just take a bit of caulk, fill it up, and the problem’s solved!
If only it were that easy. While filling a crack with caulk or another substance does visually remove the problem, you’ve only treated a symptom, not the illness. You’ll need to get in touch with a professional repair contractor if you want to keep your foundation from flooding again.
Cracks Only Appear in Your Foundation If Your Home’s Poorly Built
It’s human nature to try and blame someone else for the problems that arise in older homes. After all, you’ve done nothing wrong – it’s the original builders who must have set your foundation improperly!
Bad news: cracks can appear in old foundations, new foundations, and foundations somewhere in the middle. While foundations made out of brick or concrete are more prone to cracks, any materials will fracture when exposed to enough hydrostatic pressure.
There’s a silver lining here, though: you can work to prevent cracks in a new foundation by waterproofing your home. If you invest in an interior or exterior drainage system, it’ll be much easier to keep your belongings dry, no matter how new or old your home is.
A Foundation Crack Will Grow Less Severe Over Time
Even if you do suspect there’s a crack in your foundation, you don’t have to deal with it right away, do you?
It’s often better to deal with cracks as soon as you suspect they’re there. Why? Because even if the symptoms of a crack lessen over time, the damage will remain and will likely get worse.
Foundation Repair Is Extremely Expensive
You might not be able to afford to wait, but can you afford foundation repair at all?
More often than not, you can. Foundation repair contractors operate small, personalized businesses. As a result, they can more easily negotiate costs than larger corporations. If you want to save money on your foundation repair, seek out several free quotes before committing to a contractor. With this cost analysis in hand, you’ll be able to come away from a contractor meeting with more money in your wallet.
Selling a Home With Foundation Repair is Impossible
Some homeowners believe that a cracked foundation is the death knell for their home. After all, what buyer is going to want to take on the challenge of a cracked foundation?
As it turns out, it’s not impossible to sell a home that has a cracked foundation. Even homes with a history of foundation problems have sold before. The trick, when selling homes like these, is that you as a homeowner must either fix the cracks in your foundation or inform potential buyers of the detriment.
Repairing your foundation is going to cost you some money. After you’re done, though, you’ll be able to sell your home at full value. If you choose instead to disclose that your foundation has cracks that you haven’t fixed, you won’t be able to bring in as much during your final sale. Homes with foundations that haven’t been repaired can lose up to 30 percent of their market value. That’s a hefty chunk of change, but some owners have found the costs balance themselves out.
With those myths out of the way, why not reach out to your local Florida foundation repair experts? With a free quote in hand, you’ll be able to make more informed decisions about your home’s future.
