How to know when your apartment needs foundation repair
If you own or are thinking of buying an apartment complex or condominium in Houston, Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio, Corpus Christi from the Texas Panhandle through Oklahoma City, you know how critical it is to have a solid foundation. Nature throws hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes, flooding and everything in between at your complex and wreaks havoc on both the exteriors and foundations of buildings.
It’s important to inspect your structures’ foundations on a regular basis. While tenants may let managers or maintenance personnel know when there’s a problem, it’s best to monitor repairs being done on your properties—especially to ground floors—and catch issues early before a sinking foundation has time to do more damage.
Here are the six signs that will tell you if your apartment or condominium complex needs foundation repair:
1. Stairstep brick cracks:
Cracks between the bricks and mortar traveling from the slab up through the bricks, could be the first visible sign that you have foundation issues. Micro fractures start small and spread over time reflecting a compromise in the structural integrity of the wall.
2. Cracks in sheetrock:
During regular maintenance checks, it’s important to inspect the interior’s sheetrock for cracks. If the cracks run straight up and down along the sheetrock, it’s more than likely loose tape on the joints. But cracks running diagonally along windows, doors or in the middle of the room could mean a much more serious foundation issue.
3. Misaligned bricks or fascia board:
When the corner of your condo or apartment building fails, the bricks will move and separate from the trim.A quick inspection of the fascia board (where the trim meets the brick just under the roof) for separation will give you an indication of whether you’re experiencing a foundation issue.
4. Doors don’t line up and rub:
If your tenants or owners notice uneven gaps on their units’ doors that haven’t had issues before—especially doors on the first floor— they could be noticing an interior sign that the foundation has issues. However, if there are no other signs of foundation problems and the door on the second floor is out of alignment, that’s more than likely a framing issue.
5. Cracks in flooring:
When you see cracks in any first-floor unit’s tile, hardwood or other hard-surface flooring, it could mean that the flooring wasn’t floated correctly. But if the cracks in the hard-surface flooring stretch for more than several feet, it could be a foundation issue.
6. Large gaps in trim:
Gaps between the building’s floor and the baseboard or trim are difficult to detect and can go unnoticed for many years, but if you or your tenants notice bigger gaps in some areas than others, the foundation may have dipped in those areas.
Keeping your apartment or condominium investment in top condition is important. So, if you own a complex, we can inspect and repair your foundations. If you’re thinking of investing in or purchasing a complex, call us to help with your due diligence before you make any commitment.
Call us now for a full evaluation and estimate (for most areas) including Houston, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Corpus Christi from the Texas Panhandle through Oklahoma City and Tulsa.