What Do Common Foundation Problems Actually Look Like?

Every week, the detail-oriented folks at Green Scene Home Inspections will give CandysDirt.com readers an education in inspection. Want to see what they see? Tune in for “Upon Closer Inspection.”

When you’re buying a home, the major areas of consideration are the roof, plumbing, electricity, HVAC, and the foundation. These are your bigger-ticket items, so if something is amiss, you may have costly repairs on your hands at some point.

Foundation Problems Are Almost a Given

If you’re buying a home in North Texas, foundation problems are almost a given, so this is an area you’ll want to pay close attention to as you shop for homes. This week we’re looking closely at some common foundation problems.

Corner Pop vs. Corner Crack

Notice the missing wedge from the foundation slab in the picture above? This is called a corner pop. These are caused by the weight of the wall sliding against the foundation and causing the edge to chip or crack. And while you will see these called out on an inspection report, they’re not a big deal. It’s kind of a normal wear-and-tear issue, and rarely indicates a serious problem.

Unless you see something like the picture directly above, which is rare. In this case, you can see a direct correlation between a beam corner crack and brick-and-mortar cracks, which would indicate more serious foundation movement.

Trees Can Damage Foundations

Even an untrained eye can see that this tree is too close to the house in the photo above. This is a pier-and-beam foundation, and you can see without even getting under the house that the root system is cracking and raising the pavement.

Our Inspectors will tell you that they see more improperly installed downspouts than correct ones. Your gutter drain pipe should extend at least three feet from the house to get the water away from the foundation.