Remodeling your home can be great for its appearance, utility, and market value. When you choose and execute home upgrades wisely, you get more out of living in your home and make more money when you sell it. However, for renovation projects to succeed, the house must be structurally sound.
Put differently, a home’s foundation is the basis for all home renovations. If the foundation is out of place, the owner could never get the most from renovating the house. The damaged foundation would impair the appearance and monetary value of the project, warns Innovative Property Solutions. Or even worse, the foundation problem could damage whatever changes the owner made to the home.
It can happen when a foundation moves upward or sideways and cracks newly installed tile flooring or countertops. Or causes the new custom cabinets in the kitchen to detach from the wall and become disjointed. Or it could be a case where part of the foundation sinks and the floor inside the home becomes uneven, making everything on top of it less functional and unattractive.
Simply speaking, the place to start any home renovation is by checking that the structures, which hold up the rest of the property are in good order. Anything less could result in a monumental waste of time, money, and effort. The thing about foundation problems is that they never go away; the homeowner would eventually have to deal with the issue, one way or another.
Why homeowners neglect their home’s foundation
But why do homeowners even overlook their home’s foundations when doing renovations? Given that every homeowner should know that the foundation is critical to any improvements they make to their home, why do they ignore the foundation? People do this because:
They fear foundation damage
Homeowners fear to hear the words “foundation damage.” For many owners, these words feel like a death sentence on the habitability and market value of their property. As a result, they instinctively avoid inspecting the home’s foundation for signs of damage. Some owners refuse to accept the possibility t
Foundation repair is not glamorous
Secondly, homeowners are not going to reap immediate benefits from looking after their home’s foundations. Although maintaining or repairing the foundation is essential, renovating the home’s features is glamorous. Fixing a foundation problem will not visibly improve the home’s appearance like other renovation projects.
Yet, the main reason owners renovate their homes is money. They spend money on upgrades hoping that it will get them a higher sales price for the property. And incidentally, money is also the reason to look after a home’s foundations. The foundation of a house can deteriorate to a point where the house loses value completely and becomes unsalable.
The signs of foundations damage
What should you expect to see in a home if its foundation is failing?
- Cracks of various sizes appearing in the floors, walls, and foundation
- Uneven or sloping floors; including sagging or dipping floors
- Door and windows that stick and are, therefore, hard to open or shut
- Cabinets that detach from walls; especially, when the gaps continue to widen steadily
- Door and window openings that are out-of-square
Possible consequences of renovating a home with foundation damage
Should you go ahead to remodel your home if it has obvious signs of foundation failure? Since you would still need to fix the foundation problem, this is not a good idea. The reason is fixing the foundation problem would invariably damage some of the remodelings you have done on the home. Repairing a failing foundation requires your home to be lifted several inches.
And here are examples of what could happen when during the process:
- Lifting a house can do significant damage to rigid surfaces, countertops, floors, roofs, or walls by causing them to crack. If you already renovated these areas of your home, you would then have to do it twice.
- Lifting a house will often damage the plumbing beneath the structure. Usually, after foundation repair, the home’s plumbing will need extensive repairs.
If the home shows signs of foundation damage, carrying out renovations to other parts of the residence and ignoring the foundation will only create more problems. This cosmetic approach does not achieve anything; it only postpones the inevitable. What merely happens is that the foundation problem becomes worse, and the renovations already done may have to be redone.
A more cost-effective approach is to start with foundation repair and postpone all renovations. But the good news is that you can solve most foundation problems, although it does help to deal with the problem early – as soon as you discover it. And this is why you must take action today. It could make all the difference!