Winterize Your Home Foundation Before Winter Arrives
Foundation protection is just as important in the winter as during other seasons. Your preparations for cold temperatures should include:
- Checking your foundation for cracks, holes, and other weak spots.
- Wrapping your pipes to prevent them from freezing.
- Occasionally watering the soil around your home to within 10 inches of the foundation.
- Maintaining a minimum level of heat in your home at all times.
Let’s take a closer look at these important steps.
Don’t Let Pests Destroy Your Winter Foundation
When the mercury starts to plummet, critters may seek a warm spot like your crawlspace to ride out the cold weather. Unfortunately, by doing so, they can inflict serious harm on your foundation.
To prevent this problem, you should inspect your home’s exterior during late fall or early winter. Keep on the lookout for cracks, gaps, and holes that could admit insects or other pests.
Most small defects can be repaired by the homeowner with a concrete patch solution, which you’ll find at your local home improvement center. Larger openings are best left to foundation experts serving North Texas. If you notice damage to your foundation, minor or severe, don’t take any chances – reach out to Align Foundation Repair for your FREE inspection and quote.
Wrap Your Pipes to Prevent Them from Freezing
Frozen pipes can inflict terrible damage on a home’s foundation. And this problem is more common here in Texas than we once thought, as the events of recent winters have shown.
For this reason, we recommend wrapping your pipes in foam insulation to keep them above 32°. You’ll find products designed for this purpose at hardware and home improvement stores.
Keep the Soil Around Your Foundation Moist Throughout the Winter
It may sound odd, but dry dirt can damage your home. That’s because soil contracts as it loses moisture, weakening the support your foundation receives from the surrounding earth.
That’s why experts recommend using your garden hose or sprinklers every now and then on mild, sunny winter days. Sprinkle, but do not saturate the ground to within 10 inches of the foundation.
Once you finish this task, remember to shut off the water supply to your hose or sprinklers until its next use. Otherwise, you risk freeze damage.
Maintain a Minimum Level of Heat in Your Home
Turning off your heating system when you’re away from your house can lead to frozen or damaged pipes. Instead, you should keep the heat on but lower the thermostat setting by 7-10 degrees.
DFW Foundation Repair
Sometimes you can take all the precautions in the world and still need the help of professional foundation repair services. We invite you to contact our office today if you find yourself in this situation.
Our Dallas-Fort Worth foundation experts have decades of combined experience. Our rates are fair and we’re glad to provide references from past customers.
Contact us today for foundation repair during winter. You’ll soon have the facts you need to make an informed decision about the next steps to take to protect the value and stability of your home.
