Whether you are buying a new home or you are looking to ensure your current home is in good condition, it’s important to assure the foundation is performing as designed. There is a specific process that should always be followed by the inspection process.
When you learn more about the condition of your foundation, you can make better decisions regarding your home.
The Steps Involved in an Inspection
When you are ready for a foundation inspection, you will meet with a contractor. From there, they should provide you with several things:
- A drawing of your foundation to scale: Identify the overall shape of your foundation.
- Exterior drainage inspection: Inspect how the drainage around the home occurs.
- Exterior damage inspection: Identify damage to the outside of the home.
- Review of vegetation: Review how vegetation may be damaging the foundation.
- Interior floor plan: Identify the way the home is built and how it flows.
- Interior damage inspection: Review any damage to the interior of the home.
- Elevation survey: Calculate the slope that the home sits on.
If all of these aren’t performed, you’re not getting the full story.
At Advanced Foundation Repair, we provide you with a thorough inspection in Dallas or Fort Worth. Generally, we can also ensure that a structural report is given to you within 24 hours of completing the inspection.
By performing all of these components, you can ensure that it is comprehensive. The inspector will be able to identify any foundation cracks, damage to walls and floors, and any other signs of trouble that would warrant a structured foundation repair.
Determining if You Need a Repair
After a foundation inspection is completed, it will be easier to identify whether a foundation actually needs to be repaired.
The structural inspection will tell us a lot about what is going on. Particularly if we find that there is a problem with the drainage, resulting in damage to the foundation, we may decide that the foundation needs to be repaired and adjustments may need to be made to the way that your property drains.
Although a lot can be told with a visual, structural inspection, the elevation survey is actually one of the most useful tools. It identifies how flat your foundation is. It will also help us to determine whether a repair is actually needed or if there is something else that can be done to your property in order to avoid foundation.
Ask Questions
Obviously, you want to find out whether you need a foundation or slab repair. There are a few signs to tell you whether or not you may need to consider having your foundation inspected.
- Are your floors or counters sloping?
- Do you have doors that stick open or closed?
- Do you notice cracks on your interior or exterior walls?
These are all important questions for you to be asking yourself. Your foundation may have moved beyond the basic settling. You may get the feeling that your home simply “doesn’t feel right.” You may also notice some of the damage on your own.
Rather than allowing the problems to get worse, the best thing that you can do is schedule professionals to come out and inspect your foundation. It will provide you with the solid knowledge that you need in order to make bigger decisions – such as whether you need a repair or not.
When you call us at Advanced Foundation Repair, we can come out to provide you with a comprehensive inspection of your foundation. We can also provide you with some maintenance tips to keep your foundation in better condition from year-to-year. This includes everything from installing a root barrier between trees on your property and your foundation as well as installing gutters and downspouts to ensure that water is channeled away from your foundation.
Contact us at Advanced Foundation Repair today for more information about inspections. We look forward to setting up an inspection of your home in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.