We spend a lot of time in our homes. It’s the place where we raise a family, move in with our partners, see our children grow and possibly the place where we will die and leave all our memories. A house is much more than a building where we sleep protected from the cold: it is a home full of memories and love. But what if all of a sudden that home that we believe to be indestructible is in danger and could fall apart? By reading this guide, you’ll learn how to spot the key signs your home might have structural integrity issues.
From a termite and moisture problem to serious foundation problems, multiple signs can alert us our home is compromised, possibly necessitating builders or other tradespeople taking corrective action.
Therefore, below we will list some of the signs that could indicate to us that there is a serious problem in our home structure and that will require a quick review by a team of experts to prevent it from collapsing.
THE GROUND AROUND THE HOUSE IS SINKING
A clear sign that our house is having problems is to observe that all the soil surrounding our house is eroding and slowly coming down, indicating that we have a serious water leak or that we are suffering from quite serious drainage problems. The most common fix to such problems is house restumping which will address the root issues with the foundations of the property. In any case, if you observe this, you should call an expert in landscape architecture to analyze your house and determine the severity of the problem, its possible origin and its solution. Otherwise, the house could end up suffering irreparable structural damage.
UNEVEN WALLS
This is one of those often overlooked signs and confused with something common and typical of the house, especially if we live in a large family house with many years of age. Still, no house, no matter how old its structure is, should ever have uneven walls. If we see that some of the walls of our house are uneven, it could mean that we have a serious foundation problem, and therefore, we should call an architect urgently to analyze the problem and determine its scope.
BOUNCING FLOORS
While it is true that having a wooden floor with a certain spring is good and pleasant, observe that our floor bounces and is very soft to our passage is not and will be indicating that something severe is happening in our house. According to several architectural experts, soft and excessively moving wooden planks could indicate that we have severe and advanced termite problems in our floor’s structural beams. You’ll want to take action in these circumstances, as your bed might be about to fall through the floor!
YOUR HOUSE SMELLS MUSTY
Sometimes we can smell damp and believe that it is an outside smell or the pipes because of the cold or recent rains, but if that smell is persistent and has its origin in our house, what it will be indicating to us is that we have severe problems of humidity and some water leakage. Therefore, if you don’t want your whole house to end up corrupted by humidity and water, quickly call a plumber to check your installation and locate the source of the smell.
CRACKED PAINT ON YOUR DOOR FRAMES
There are times when we can observe that the paint on our walls cracks because of a bad primer, but there are other times when it could indicate that we are suffering serious moisture problems that the house’s downspouts are damaging the entire structure by some leak. Therefore, if you notice that the paint around the doors or the walls’ corners is cracking, do not hesitate to call a humidity expert to check the installation and repair it immediately.
YOUR DOORS AND WINDOWS CLOSE WELL
One of the most evident signs that can alert us that your house’s structure is in serious trouble is the following: check that the door and window closing mechanism is not working. If suddenly all your doors and windows don’t fit where they always have, then it’s time to worry because the foundation of your house is moving and could give way at any moment.