The Foundation of a house plays a very important role in the perfect maintenance of a house. Whatever may be the building size, whether it is small or big building, proper foundation will only make it strong enough to stand against harsh and worst weather condition like cyclones and earthquakes. What if the foundation becomes weak? Yes, it is true as the time goes on, the foundation of a building weak. Recognizing it at the early stages will ensure to rectify the problem at the early stages.
There are some signs which are shown on the structure of the building if the foundation is not strong and these signs include:
- Cracks In Walls And Floors
- Doors and Windows not opening
- Stairs that come away from porches
- Chimneys that Separate from house Siding
There are some reasons behind the failure of the foundation and these reasons include:
1. Type of the Soil
The type of the soil on which the building is built plays a very important role. The expansive clay soil type is the most common one as it swells by hundred percent as it can absorb so much of water. This type of soil can easily lift most of the residential homes. As this soil expands and contract based on the level of water, there may be an irregular basement on which the foundations are built. These ups and downs will damage the foundation. So, in order to maintain the structural integrity of the building, underpinning plays a very important role.
2. Poor Compacting of Fill Material
Compacting the fill material under the building should be perfect, otherwise it won’t support the weight of the building which leads to the
foundation repairs. The main reason behind this problem can be the mixing of the odd fill materials and poorly compacted fill or both of them.
3. Slope Failure
The slope failure occurs mainly due to the mass wasting which is the term used to describe the movement of the earth down hill. There may be creeps or the sudden landslides. Without proper foundation the houses in the way may slope down with the earth which leads to nothing but chaos. So, it is suggested to use the specially designed underpinnings to resist the slopes and make the buildings stand against any type of earth slopes.
4. Erosion
Erosion is one of the major and common issue that damages the foundation of a building. The main reasons for erosion include the poor drainage, uncontrolled water flow or lack of ground cover. These must be identified early otherwise the surroundings will be eroded and lead to the underpinning which is a time taking work.
5. Poor Construction
The buildings that are built without following any type of building codes like the soil testing, engineer certification before and during the building process will surely face the poor foundation problem. So poor construction is one of the major problems that may lead to foundation repairs.
These are the 5 main reasons that may lead to the foundation repairs for buildings. So, everyone must follow the building codes and employ the latest techniques in providing strong and reliable foundation for any building.