All American homes are built upon a foundation, and Texan homes that were built within the past 50 years are built on slab foundations, which may give them some advantages over older homes. In any case, the foundation and basement are often the first thing built when a house is under construction, and a quality foundation will hardly ever suffer foundation failure, but a poorly built one, or one that suffers earthquake damage, may suffer flooding damage or require commercial foundation repair crews to be brought over. A concerned homeowner who is suffering flooding water or cracks in the basement can contact local crews, and enter queries online such as “commercial foundation repair Houston TX” or “Dallas foundation repair” for residents of Texas. What sort of expensive damage might happen inside a compromised basement or foundation? Water and radon gas are two particular hazards to watch out for if a home suffers foundation failure.
Flooding and Radon
Water is a common issue when foundation failure strikes. Sometimes, the water may be coming from inside the house itself due to ruptured or leaking pipes. Pipes with cracked surfaces or bad joints will constantly drip water, and over time, all this dripping water will accumulate in pools at the basement’s lowest points, most often if there are no drains or pumps to get rid of it. What is more, foundation failure will allow rainwater to easily leak into the house during a rain storm or flooding, and houses suffering foundation failure may get a lot of water into the basement during a flash flood, if the area is prone to that.
Foundation failure allows flooding, and standing water is a real issue. For one thing, all that moisture can foster excessive mold growth down in the basement. Many Americans are aware of the danger of mold growth, and such mold can release a lot of spores and other biological agents that can set off asthma or allergies among the home’s occupants, including pets. Standing water in the basement due to foundation failure may also erode and crack the floors or walls, and water damage may occur to furniture or stored items down in the basement.
Radon gas is another issue that a faulty foundation may cause. Radon gas occurs naturally in the ground, and some homeowners may not realize that it is a common threat, but it certainly is, and it can be deadly. Radon gas always emits up into the air from the ground, and if a foundation and basement floor is compromised, then this gas has a lot of ingress into the home, and concentrations will steadily rise, as the EPA notes. Lower concentrations of this gas can cause mild symptoms such as chest pain and nausea, and greater concentrations turn deadly, often accelerating rates of lung cancer. Unfortunately, thousands of Americans die each year due to radon gas-induced lung cancer.
Fixes
What can be done about a faulty foundation or damaged basement? Professionals can be called in to help fix a basement and foundation and deal with the damage already done. Foundation crews can be found in one’s local area and hired, and they can help seal a foundation against water so that heavy rain and flooding do not cause so much water to get inside. These crews may also deal with cracks and other issues with the basement walls and floor, and this can help prevent so much radon gas from getting inside. Plumbers, meanwhile, can be hired to fix or replace damaged pipes and even install or upgrade floor drains so that water cannot build up. Plumbers may also set up a sump pump and channels that redirect water to it, so that excess water is drawn up and then redirected out of the house.
Radon gas testing kits can be bought at a hardware store and set up to check the air for dangerous buildup of radon gas. The test hardware transmits the data after 90 days of testing, and the homeowner will hear back about the results. If dangerous amounts of gas are found, the homeowners must then open doors and windows to recycle the home’s air and drop the radon gas concentrations levels back below the EPA’s action level.
