Five Questions About Foundation Signs at a Tallahassee, FL Home

Using This Tool Well

You will be asked what the house rests on, which signs you can see, the width of the biggest crack, whether things have shifted since you first noticed, and what water and trees are doing near the walls. One unhurried loop outside and a walk through each room answer most of it. Look at brick or block near the corners and below windows, the top corners of door frames, the line where wall meets ceiling, baseboards, and tile laid over concrete. Tick as many boxes in Step 2 as fit, and treat Not sure as a fair answer wherever it shows up.

Your picks do not all weigh the same. A floor that slopes, a crack a quarter inch across or more, fresh gaps at the ceiling line or trim, and a sign that seems to be growing each count for more than one hairline mark by itself. The tool tallies your answers and suggests a sensible next step, and that is where it stops. It does not grade how serious anything is. Reading a sign is a job for a local foundation specialist, or an engineer, standing at the house.

Water near the house is part of the picture. Ground that stays damp beside one wall and dries out beside another can let a foundation shift unevenly. A downspout spilling at the base of a wall, a yard that tilts toward the house, a leaking pipe or a large tree close by can each change how wet the soil stays. That is why the end of a long dry stretch, or a heavy soaking that breaks one, is a good moment to walk the house again with this list in hand.