Your house is more than just a building. Your house is where you and your family live, where cherished keepsakes are stored, the very foundation of your lives, but it is also a large, complex structure — a structure that must be properly constructed in order to keep you and your family safe and secure. At the core of this building is your foundation: the platform on which everything rests, the importance of a solid, healthy foundation cannot be overstressed — especially in the seismically-active region in which all Californians live. So, how is your foundation?

What are the signs of foundation problems?

Many of the indications that your foundation is in trouble are obvious, doors won’t shut properly; windows are difficult to open and close; cracks appear in the surface of your walls and ceiling; sidewalks, patios, and other hardscaped surfaces show breakage; and, in more extreme cases, you can actually see the slope of your floor. Of course, these are visible on the surface. Below, an expert can see the more subtle or hidden clues in the foundation itself: cracks, slippage, water damage, and more. At CXC Contracting, our years of experience in the field have made us adept at discovering and interpreting all this information. We can not only determine the problems, but also make recommendations about exactly what to do to resolve them

How did my foundation get damaged?

The most common causes of foundation problems are soil-related (soil that was insufficiently compacted, sand or clay), water damage (once again, underscoring the need for proper waterproofing), and poor maintenance around the area. (Unfortunately, overgrowth of foliage can be a major contributor.) In California, there is another cause: earthquakes. And not just the large, newsworthy events like the 1994 Northridge quake; while we may accept as normal the smaller, much more frequent seismic events, they have a cumulative effect on foundations.

What can I do?

Luckily, repairing your foundation does not have to be an invasive process, uprooting your family and disrupting your life. As foundation repair experts, we at CXC Contracting know how to deliver the best results with a minimum of upheaval. First, we diagnose the problems. Then, with a combination of hydraulic jacks, structural reinforcements, house bolting, and filling materials, we fix and upgrade your foundation so that it does the job it was designed for, which is ensuring the security of your house. In the process, if necessary, we may also add house leveling or floor leveling into the mix, which can help with a number of the issues you’ve seen in your house over the years. Don’t wait until the problems get worse, or an earthquake shows you just how bad your foundation is. Contact us now for your free inspection. You’ll be glad you did!