Building a home takes skill. Your house was probably built by someone who created many of the homes in your neighborhood. Most every home has a basement. Many have finished basements. Some have finished areas, and room for storage and some homes have unfinished basements. Finished or unfinished, how do you recognize a sinking basement floor?
Is your basement floor sinking?
Know the warning signs that indicate the basement floor needs repairing. Humidity levels rise in the summer and with that, wood swells making windows and doors hard to open. Not being able to open the doors in your basement is one indication that there may be a void under your floor. Take a look at areas where the walls meet your ceiling. Do you notice any gaps along that line? Evaluate the places where your baseboards meet the walls. Look for the same thing.
Look for a gap between the baseboard and the wall. They will seem to separate. If you have visible support beams in your basement, you may notice the beam starting to pull away from the ceiling. When this happens, it also compromises the upper floor, which uses these beams to support their flooring. Another warning sign is the floor feels like it is sloping from one side to another. It may also be sloping to the middle of the room. If you pull up your carpeting and see cracks in the cement, that is a sure sign that your home’s concrete basement floor is sinking.
What causes a sinking basement floor?
Concrete slabs sink because the earth beneath it begins to compress due to evaporating moisture in the ground. Lack of rainfall or snow can affect not only your basement but your garage floor, driveway, sidewalk, patios and steps. Your contractor is usually not to blame for your concrete slabs sinking into the ground.
Concrete Raising Systems works with other professionals such as foundation and peering specialists to ensure that your concrete foundation and floor is safe and stable to support the upper levels in your home.
If you suspect you have a sinking basement floor, call Concrete Raising Systems. We can evaluate your basement floor and do what we can to fill the void beneath it with our polyurethane foam lifting mud jacking material. Our polyurethane system is designed not to sink again (unlike traditional mud jacking techniques that use a combination of sand, water, and cement to fill gaps). Our foam spreads up to 7 feet in both directions ensuring that all the potential voids under your basement floor are filled, and your concrete is now supported and secure. Don’t wait. It will only be more costly if you do!
This post was originally created in July, 2014 and has been updated.
If your basement is sinking and there is a chance it can be repaired by concrete lifting – I say that is the way to go. Having your company out first is something I would highly recommend to my clients. Foundation repairs can be so expensive!
I had no idea that not being able to open doors in your basement could be a sign there is a void under the floor. My wife noticed that our floor in the basement is sloping a little to one side and it’s harder to open our doors down there as well. I think we’ll find a professional to help us with this problem right away.