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Find hidden foundation problems before purchasing a home

Posted Mar 31, 2021 in Foundation Crack Repair, Waterproofing, Industry

Home for sale

You’re about to make the biggest pur­chase of your life. Are you ready? Before you invest your hard earned mon­ey on a new home, it’s impor­tant that your sure that the foun­da­tion is in good shape. Oth­er­wise, you could be in for expen­sive repairs lat­er. Check for foun­da­tion prob­lems before you buy – you’ll be glad you did!

Even if the home looks flaw­less, it’s entire­ly pos­si­ble that there are foun­da­tion issues lurk­ing in the deep. While you’d like to think that the sell­er will dis­close any issues or take care of them pri­or to sale, they might not be as hon­est as you are. It’s in your best inter­est to check things out. If you’re in the mar­ket for a new home, Fam­i­ly Water­proof­ing Solu­tions rec­om­mends you look for a few con­spic­u­ous warn­ing signs.

Foun­da­tion prob­lem warn­ing signs

Are the exte­ri­or walls cov­ered? If you notice items sus­pi­cious­ly pushed up against the sides of the house, the cur­rent own­er may be try­ing to hide some­thing. Make sure to remove such items and ensure there are no unseen cracks in the foun­da­tion, bricks, or walls. These types of cracks may mean a foun­da­tion repair is wait­ing for a new owner.

Is there brand new wall­pa­per or recent­ly paint­ed walls? While the own­er may have improved the house to make it more attrac­tive to buy­ers, it’s also pos­si­ble that they are try­ing to cov­er some­thing up. Make sure to ask about it or take a clos­er look.

Is fur­ni­ture awk­ward­ly placed along the walls? Or are there box­es stacked against the walls? The sell­er may be try­ing to hide some­thing. If some­thing looks like it doesn’t belong, move it, and take a look behind. It might be noth­ing, but it also might be an expen­sive repair wait­ing for you when you move in.

By tak­ing a few steps to pro­tect your­self, you may save your­self a headache of hav­ing to repair the foun­da­tion your­self, or you may be able to nego­ti­ate a low­er pur­chase price, sav­ing you mon­ey. In any case, it only serves to ben­e­fit you.

Signs of foun­da­tion problems

  1. Cracks in the walls, brick sid­ing, or siding
  2. Uneven floors
  3. Mis­aligned win­dows and doors
  4. Cracked and fold­ed drywall
About the Author

Maria Kirchner, founder of Family Waterproofing, is a waterproofing expert with extensive hands-on experience in basement waterproofing, concrete raising, and moisture prevention. Passionate about staying ahead through annual training, she shares practical tips on her blog to empower homeowners—like tackling sinking slabs with polyurethane foam for quick, cost-effective fixes. Her customer-first approach has earned hundreds of 5-star reviews, helping families protect their homes with confidence. Connect with Maria for personalised advice: Contact Us.

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  • Thank you for final­ly get­ting rid of my flood­ing prob­lem. I had almost resigned myself to liv­ing with the Black Lagoon in my base­ment. You were able to iden­ti­fy the real prob­lem with my leak by using some empir­i­cal evi­dence rather than guess­ing and charg­ing me for fan­tas­ti­cal projects. Above all, you talked to me as if l am an intel­li­gent per­son instead of ​“the lit­tle lady” who needs her hus­band to make a deci­sion. Final­ly, the extent and care of your pro­pos­al, with its exten­sive pic­tures, con­vinced me that you are an hon­est bro­ker. My base­ment stayed dry despite the recent tor­ren­tial rains. I would be hap­py to rec­om­mend your work.

    Paris

  • Work­man­ship and ser­vice were excel­lent. Would rec­om­mend with­out reservation.

    Ed

  • You and your crew did a great job in our base­ment and crawl­space. You went the extra mile to insure that all of our water seep­age prob­lems are over. We would rec­om­mend you high­ly to oth­er peo­ple. Your qual­i­ty and time­ly work out­match­es all the others.

    William

  • We con­tract­ed Fam­i­ly Water­proof­ing Solu­tions for exte­ri­or wall seal­ing and foun­da­tion crack repair ser­vices. Ken was very thor­ough in explain­ing the work that would be done, and his crew did a great job. This busi­ness was a plea­sure to work with.

    Stacie T.