If you want to keep your home in good shape, consider investing a good deal of money into your foundation. If you’re lucky enough to be able to build your own home, putting at least 8% of the total cost of the home into the foundation and the foundation alone is something that will help to ensure that the foundation stays in good shape. Some people will even choose to invest up to 15% into the foundation.
Of course, there are a number of popular foundation varieties out there, ranging from the basement foundation to the crawlspace foundation to the slab foundation. The type of foundation that you ultimately use will depend on a number of different factors, such as the location where you are looking to build. Choosing the right type of foundation for your home and your property is something that can pay off immensely at the end of the day, as choosing the wrong foundation can lead to a number of complications, of this there is no doubt.
For those who choose basement foundations, preventing flooding will also be key and critical to reducing the overall risk of damage to the foundation in question. This is due to the fact that basements in the United States are quite prone to flooding indeed, with more than 95% of all basements experiencing some type of flooding at some point in time or another. In fact, up to 98% of them will deal with this type of an issue, sending more than 14,000 people to deal with flooding related emergencies, both personally and professionally, on a daily basis. In addition to this, up to 37% of all people who are home owners have unfortunately had to experience property damage and the loss of personal effects as a result of flooding.
Fortunately, there are a number of different ways that we can improve and protect our foundations. For one thing, taking preventative measures is a must. That might look like exterior basement waterproofing systems, as such things can get a return on investment of nearly one third (around 30%, to be just a bit more specific). In addition to this, careful gardening – not placing your plants closer than two feet to your foundation and making sure that the roots do not go too deeply – can also help to protect your foundation. And making sure that your gutters divert water at least ten feet from the foundation – and keeping these gutters clean and free from clogs and debris – is a must.
Inspection of the foundation is also a must, something that should be occurring at a number of points throughout the span of a home’s usage. Ideally, this is something that will happen at least once every 20 years – and always before you try to sell your home. Inspecting the foundation can help you to firm up whether or not there are any issues with the foundation that need to be repaired. Fortunately, home foundation repair can typically be readily conducted by a foundation contractor in your area.
These foundation contractors will also likely be able to conduct some flood damage repair, such as wall repair. Wall repair is all too often necessary after flooding events, thanks to the fact that flooding damage can be hugely extensive and walls are, of course, hugely important in terms of the overall structural integrity of just about any given home. Ultimately, this wall repair should be conducted as soon as the need for wall repair is noticed in the first place. Wall repair jobs can be minor or extensive, but all such issues should be handled as quickly as is possible. Quick wall repair, after all, can stave off worsening or additional damage, something that ends up saving a considerable amount of money at the end of the day.
Your home’s foundation is a hugely important thing, though far too many people do not pay it nearly enough mind. But the foundation of your home is something to take seriously – and care for diligently. Without your home’s foundation, after all, so much else about your home would be put at risk.
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