Correct lawn and garden maintenance is a major factor in protecting your foundation from potential harm. Expanding and contracting soil, excessive moisture, and inadequate drainage are the most common threats to your home’s foundation. Living in the Midwest, some of those threats are inevitable, but many can be prevented by preventative lawn care.
Preventative Foundation Maintenance
Helitech recommends to always keep a positive grade away from your home’s structure to allow for sufficient water run-off. One of the most harmful things you can do to your home’s foundation is to allow for surrounding pooling water.
Creating run-off includes any dirt slope, whether that be a small garden of vegetables or flowers, or a retaining wall; the water should always be drained well enough to flow away from the base of your home. This also includes keeping all concrete (driveways, porches, sidewalks, patios, etc.) with a positive slope away from the dwelling.
Another simple tip for preventative foundation maintenance is to 1) Keep your gutters unclogged and free from debris and 2) make sure the downspouts extend at least 6 feet from your foundation to ensure water drains away from the base of your home.
Hiring a Foundation Contractor
When hiring a foundation contractor, here are a few simple checks:
- Check their rating with the Better Business Bureau
- Experience – Ask how many years of hands-on foundation repair experience a contractor has. You wouldn’t want to hire a contractor just to have them perform sub-par work and watch them disappear.
- Warranty – Never hire anyone who does not guarantee their work with a warranty. This also goes back to experience; a company’s warranty will not hold up if they are no longer in business, and it may leave you with another costly repair down the road.
- Be sure they include a certificate of insurance with their estimates and carefully examine it to ensure it is current.
- Always check local references on the scope of work involved
Choose Helitech for Foundation Repair
Here are a few reasons why you should choose Helitech for your foundation repair project:
- Helitech is an accredited Better Business Bureau company and maintains an A rating.
- We have been in business since 1987 and are continually expanding and growing to better serve our customers.
- Helitech stands by each repair and offers a transferable, life-of-the-structure warranty.
- We provide free written estimates, are fully insured, and can and will show proof at every appointment.
- We understand your home and choosing a foundation repair contractor is a tough decision. We will always provide you with a detailed list of previous customers to use as a reference in your buying process.