Signs
Signs of a foundation problem
Foundation trouble usually shows up somewhere else first: in a wall, a door or a floor. One sign alone is mostly worth watching. Several together, or one that keeps growing, is worth an inspection.
Pick the nearest match
- Stepped cracks in brick, cracked drywallMortar joints opening like a staircase, and diagonal lines leaving the corners of door frames.Read this page
- Doors that drag, windows that jamA latch that misses its hole, or a gap over the door that is fat at one end and thin at the other.Read this page
- Floors that tilt, dip or springA room that runs downhill, a hollow in mid-floor, or boards that give under your feet.Read this page
- A crack through the concrete slabCrack features to record before an inspection, including raised edges.Read this page
- A tired floor over a crawl spaceOlder central Austin houses on posts: fallen shims, soft wood and damp underneath.Read this page
- One end of the house going downWhat a lift involves, and why the low end is not always the end that moved.Read this page
- Rainwater standing against the wallDownspouts, soil slope and planting beds, with a table of which trade to ring.Read this page
Foundation, or something else?
Most of these signs have ordinary causes too. The right-hand column is what an inspector rules out.
| What you notice | Why it can point to the foundation | Other common causes |
|---|---|---|
| Stepped crack in brick | Brick veneer cannot bend, so a small rise or drop at one corner opens the joints | A rusting steel lintel over a window, or brick laid without expansion joints |
| Door rubs at one top corner | The frame has leaned because the floor under one side moved | Humid weather swelling the door, loose hinge screws, layers of paint |
| Floor tilts toward one wall | Part of the slab, or a row of piers, sits lower than the rest | A floor that was never quite flat, or a wall removed in a remodel |
| Crack across the garage floor | The slab has bent over a spot where the soil dropped or swelled | Shrinkage as the concrete cured, which leaves thin cracks with level edges |
| Gap between porch and house | The house and the porch are moving apart | A porch on its own shallow footing that has tipped by itself |
Keep a simple record before anyone visits
A dated record tells an inspector whether a sign is old and stable or new and growing. That matters more than its size on any one day.
- Pencil a small mark and the date at each end of a crack. Look again in a month.
- Photograph cracks with a coin beside them, from the same spot each time.
- List the doors and windows that bind, and the month they started.
- Note any plumbing leak, even one that was fixed, and where it was.
- After heavy rain, walk round the house and note where water stands against it.
Want it looked at?
Phone, say where the house is and what has changed, and you will be speaking with an independent local foundation repair company. It can book a visit to measure the floors and tell you what it finds.
Calls may be recorded. Austin Foundation Repair Help refers callers and repairs nothing itself, as the referral disclosure sets out. Call details are handled under the privacy policy.