Your foundation holds up your house, but it also insulates your home against the cold, and keeps out moisture. It protects your home if there is any earth movement. As you can see, the foundation is a very important part of your home, and you should do all you can to protect it.

Landscaping

When it comes to your landscaping, do not put plants, bushes, or trees close to your foundation.  If you do this, the soil will expand when you water your plants, and the roots from trees and bushes can grow under your foundation, which can cause great damage.

If you do plant flowers and shrubs near the foundation, make sure you keep them mulched at all times. This will help the soil retain moisture, keeping it away from the foundation. Two or three inches of mulch should suffice. Any flower gardens should slope away from your home to keep water from building up around the foundation.

Drought

Too much water can hurt a foundation, but not enough water can hurt it as well. When the soil is extremely dry, it causes the soil to contract. When this happens, your foundation can sink, which causes it to start cracking. You may notice doors are harder to close and open inside your home, or you may see small cracks in the corners of your walls. If you have extreme damage, the cracks in the foundation can cause plumbing pipes under your home to break.

When you are in a drought, walk around your foundation looking for any gaps between the soil and foundation. If you see gaps, then you need to water the ground around the foundation until the soil swells enough to close up the gap.

Downspouts

A downspout directs roof runoff and rain away from your home. If you have a down spout, however, make sure it extends out enough from your house so the water is not going directly to the foundation. If it does not, you can purchase downspout extenders at a home improvement store. You could also purchase a downspout diverter that diverts water underground to a storm drain or the curb.

If you do find cracks in your foundation, purchase some foundation waterproofing at a hardware or home improvement store to fill them in immediately.  If you have many cracks, or the cracks are large and deep, you should contact a contractor to repair the foundation for you. Doing this quickly can prevent further damage to your foundation.

For a foundation contractor, contact a company such as Jackson-Cook Cranes.