Every week, the detail-oriented folks at Green Scene Home Inspections will give Daltxrealestate.com readers an education in inspection. Want to see what they see? Tune in for “Upon Closer Inspection.”
When you’re buying a home, we advise people that 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.
If you’re buying a home in North Texas, foundation issues are almost a given, so this is an area you’ll want to pay close attention to as you shop for homes.
Never Go For a DIY Fix
If you look above, there’s a picture taken from the crawl space of a pier-and-beam foundation. The original pier (vertical) is not holding up the beam (horizontal), so it’s sagging where it’s lacking support. In this picture, we can see a DIY fix, where the homeowner has kind of propped it up with a board and a brick. Sort of like propping up a table with an unattached leg. It’s going to fall.
Foundation Movement
In this video, you can see some pretty major damage caused by movement in a pier-and-beam foundation. You’ll likely find similar signs of stress and pulling on the walls and floors inside the house. In this case, the homeowner will need both foundation repair and cosmetic repairs.
Say No To Cracks
PSA: Just say no to foundation cracks! This ginormous (that’s a technical term) crack goes all the way through this beautiful new house.
Unfortunately, if you’re shopping for a home in North Texas, you’re probably going to have to deal with foundation repairs at some point. You can prepare yourself by just accepting that this is a likely cost of homeownership and plan accordingly.
