Snow and ice can cause several problems throughout the Kansas City winter. However, some homeowners are not aware that the cold, icy winter conditions can have damaging effects on their foundation as well. Keep an eye on your foundation and the rest of your home this winter and contact a foundation repair expert as soon as you see any signs of a problem. Pro Foundation Technology's team of foundation repair experts can help reverse winter foundation damage in your Kansas City home.
Some of the different problems that winter weather, ice, and snow can cause your foundation are:
- Foundation Cracks: Foundation cracks can occur when the water in the ground that surrounds your foundation freezes. As the water in the soil freezes, it expands and pushes against your concrete foundation. This pressure can cause cracks to form. Frost heave, soil expansion that causes the foundation to raise and heave, can also lead to crack formation.
- Water Leakage: As cracks form in your foundation, it becomes more susceptible to leakage. This can be compounded by the large amounts of snowmelt that warmer days in winter and the end of winter bring. All of this melted snow can seep through your foundation walls and cause basement moisture issues.
- Frozen Pipelines: Another problem homeowners see in the wintertime is the freezing of discharge lines. If these pipes freeze, the sump pump will not be able to function properly and may start to backflow into the basement. Frozen pipes might also burst and cause flooding. This is a problem both during warmer spells in winter and late winter - early spring.
These problems can all be caused by the cold temperatures and increase of precipitation in the winter months. Defend your home by investing in proper waterproofing and foundation repair from Pro Foundation Technology.
How to Fix Winter Foundation Problems
To prevent these problems, it is important to have effective waterproofing systems installed in your home. To keep snowmelt from gathering around your home, ensure that the grading, the slope of the yard around the home, is slanted downward. This will keep water and snowmelt from pooling in the yard and move it away from the home. It is also important to make sure that the sump pump is installed correctly so that discharge lines slope downward away from the home, as this will prevent water from pooling in the pipes and freezing. The team at Pro Foundation Tech can install surface drainage, water collection, sump pump systems, and interior drainage to combat winter foundation and basement water problems.
We also offer foundation repair to stabilize foundations that have shifted or cracked due to winter weather. When the cold temperatures cause foundation heaving and cracking, underpinning solutions from PFT can help. If your foundation needs lifting, we will put in steel piers or helical piers, which support the foundation from underneath. We can also use helical tiebacks to pull basement walls into place and close cracks. All of these solutions will help your foundation remain intact and stabilized after damage from winter weather conditions.
Contact us now to learn how our solutions can benefit your Kansas City home after the harsh winter weather hits.
Filed under Foundation Repair, Water Management
Tags: cold weather foundation damage, foundation damage KC, foundation repair, winter foundation damage, winter foundation problems, winter foundation repair