With Ohio’s weather patterns being notoriously difficult to predict, you’ll want to take the necessary steps to inspect and protect your home from water damage, structural damage, and hydrostatic pressure. Use this home health checklist to conduct your own home inspections and identify any damage that may require professional assistance.
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Assess Your Home’s Structural Health
The security of your home and its foundation is determined by the overall structural health. With your foundation being the most significant component of your home’s stability, you’ll want to regularly check in on this to make sure no damage is being done.
Some signs to look for that indicate hydrostatic pressure’s impact on your structural supports include:
- Popped nails
- Wall and floor gaps
- Uneven floors
- Vertical, horizontal, diagonal, or stair-step cracks in your walls
- Sticking doors
- Bowed basement walls
Your home’s health also depends on structural support outdoors as well. For example, your chimney may start to crack if you’ve let hydrostatic pressure build up around your foundation for an extended period of time. Similarly, if this pressure has begun to work against your foundation, you may have a better chance of seeing slab slippage and settlement from outside of your home.
Look Over Your Crawl Space
Next, if you have a crawl space in your home, you should inspect this for any signs of moisture or damage. These spaces may be small, but any damage therein can have a significant impact on the overall health of your home. The more moisture your crawl space takes in, the more likely it’ll begin to harbor mold clusters. This form of mold has the potential to negatively impact you and your family’s health, causing respiratory problems that previously didn’t exist.
Be on the lookout for these signs of crawl space damage:
- Standing water or moisture
- Wood rot
- Sagging floors
- Cracks
- Open vents
- Mold
- Damaged insulation
- Unpleasant smells
- Pest infestations
If you’ve noticed your bills are rising for seemingly no reason, this is another reason to consider a crawl space inspection. Your HVAC system will have an extremely difficult time properly controlling the temperature if you have moisture in your crawl space, which may cause your electric bill to climb rapidly. Similarly, a leak in your crawl space can damage the pipes throughout your home, causing your water bill to rise.
Check Your Basement
Homes in the Cleveland, Ohio, area most likely have either a basement or a crawl space. Basements are a little less sensitive to water damage than crawl spaces are, but that doesn’t mean you can let it go without a little maintenance. If you let hydrostatic pressure take over your basement, you can see the same kinds of mold that wreak havoc on a person’s respiratory system appear in its darker corners. If structural damage from hydrostatic pressure is left for too long without being taken care of, it may become just as irreparable.
When inspecting your basement, look for these warning signs:
- Standing water that doesn’t drain
- Water-damaged belongings
- Unpleasant smells
- Damaged appliances, including your sump pump
- Obvious leaks
Foundation or structural damage throughout your home may show many of the same signs, so it’s best to get it checked out by a professional. If you’re not sure what kind of damage you’re looking at, get in touch with one of the contractors in your area to start exploring your options, including reliable basement waterproofing solutions.
Inspect Your Concrete Slabs
Lastly, check the outdoors of your home and make sure to give any accessory concrete slabs the same attention you’d give your foundation. These slabs can include but are not limited to:
- Patio
- Garage
- Driveway
- Basement floor
- Sidewalk
- Pool deck
Hydrostatic pressure is just as likely to cause these elements to fracture and pull away from your home as they would impact your foundation. Waterproofing is one solution to consider upon concrete installation if you want to avoid the worst of the damage they may endure. If they are damaged, they can be repaired and protected with the state-of-the-art PolyRenewal™ concrete lifting system.
Reach out to one of Ohio’s professional basement waterproofing, foundation repair, and crawl space repair contractors for a home inspection and to learn more about the measures that best suit your home’s needs. You’ll also benefit from a free quote on any repairs or installation services you need around your home.
