Water collecting around your home’s foundation can cause water damage.
Prevent water from collecting around the foundation.
Make sure your gutters are properly draining water away from your home’s foundation.
If you are a homeowner, then odds are you’ve heard these warnings, whether it be from your realtor, property inspector or home insurance provider.
At K-Guard Rocky Mountains, we’re passionate about preventing foundation damage. After all, it is our job. While we specialize in installing leaf free gutter systems, the whole point of our K-Guard Gutter System is for water to flow freely throughout your entire gutter system and for the system to direct water to flow away from your home’s foundation.
But do you know why it’s so important for water to drain away from your home’s foundation? Continue reading to learn all about foundation damage and how to prevent it.
What Exactly is Foundation Damage?
Foundation damage is exactly that – damage that occurs to your home’s foundation. Although the definition may seem easy to understand, it’s a little more complex than it may seem. How so? For starters, there are many different types of foundations, materials and warning signs that are dependent upon many different variables to determine the type and severity of the foundation damage you may have.
Foundation damage can cause many serious issues for homeowners including cracks in foundation, leaning or tipping, foundation upheaval, and so on. While there are many different types of foundation materials, we’re going to be focusing on the most popular foundation material for homes – concrete. Keep reading to learn more about foundation damage like what causes it and how to prevent it from happening to your home.
What Causes Foundation Damage?
While there are many different things that cause foundation damage, below are just a few variables:
- Soil conditions
- Slab foundation issues
- Improper drainage
Soil conditions are one of the more common causes of foundation damage. Soil moisture is ever changing, especially here in the Colorado region. Our winters are harsh with accumulating snow that eventually melts while our springs bring heavy rains and occasional snow and our summers bring thunderstorms that produce a lot of rainwater. Because we experience many different types of extreme weather conditions, the moisture in our soil is constantly changing; hot summers can cause soil to shrink while melting snow can cause soil to expand.
Slab foundations, while being a quicker option for most builders, can lead to structural damage depending upon how they are poured and compacted. If a builder doesn’t properly compact each layer of soil once it’s added then the slab may not be supported correctly, leading to possible foundation and structural damage.
Improper drainage of rainwater and meltwater is another cause of foundation damage. If a gutter system is not collecting and directing water away from your home’s foundation then the buildup over time will cause damage like cracks, mold and even structural damage. A home’s drainage and gutter system is crucial when it comes to preventing water to collect around the foundation.
How can I Spot Foundation Damage?
Luckily, it’s relatively easy to spot foundation damage and to determine which type of foundation damage you may have. To start, walk around the perimeter of your home and examine the foundation closely. Check for cracks in the foundation or water collecting around the base of the foundation. If you notice any cracks or standing water, you will want to contact a foundation repair company immediately to assess the damage and to get repairs started.
When it comes to the interior of your home, inspect each room and look for gaps around window frames, windows and walls, as well as cracks in the basement. If you suspect foundation damage, then you will want to contact a foundation repair company as previously mentioned.
How can I Prevent Foundation Damage?
There are a few measures you can take to prevent foundation damage. An obvious way to prevent foundation damage is to make sure that all water drains away from your home’s foundation rather than collecting around it. The last thing you want is for rain to accumulate alongside your home’s foundation, leading to foundation damage.
How can you ensure water is draining away from your home’s foundation? By installing a K-Guard Leaf Free Gutter System. Our larger sized downspouts allow for rain and snow/ice melt to be pushed even farther away from your home versus traditional gutter systems (our gutter systems can even handle 40% more water drainage than Leaf Guard), aiding in keeping your home’s foundation safe.
Why choose K-Guard? We are passionate about our leaf-free gutter systems and could go on and on about the benefits of installing K-Guard! Take a look at our blog post, 4 benefits of installing K-Guard, to learn all about how our gutter system can enhance your home and keep it protected.
What are you waiting for? With everything that can go wrong with improperly draining gutters and downspouts, now is the time to make the switch to K-Guard, especially entering the rainy season. Call (303) 476-4323 to schedule your free estimate!
