Expert Foundation Repair Services In Cape Coral, FL

All homes are at the mercy of the soil underneath them. When that soil is well-prepared and compacted before the foundation is laid, and the property is well-maintained, the foundation and soil should shift and settle together, keeping your foundation intact. If, however, there is a failure in any one of these elements, your foundation can shift or settle unevenly with the soil underneath, triggering foundation issues that range from minor damage to catastrophic failures. In our “waterfront wonderland”, with our coastal position and sandy soils, foundation preparation and maintenance are key to preserving your home’s stability and long life.

As we mentioned, soil and its appropriate preparation are critical to maintaining a proper foundation, and one of the factors that affect soil stability the most is water. If there’s one thing we have in abundance here in Cape Coral, it’s water, and all that water can spell disaster for foundations. Described below are some of the most common reasons that foundations need repairing in the Cape Coral area.

Rain

Heavy rain and hurricane weather can bring vast amounts of water down in a hurry — we get an average of 54 inches of rain each year. Our sandy, poorly draining, already-wet soil, has a hard time keeping up with that volume of rain. As water fills the nooks and crannies between particles in the soil, it can push against the foundation (hydrostatic pressure) and can erode areas away, causing problems for your foundation.

Flooding Issues

Whether from storm surge or seawall failures, encroaching water can have the same undesirable effects as too much rainwater runoff, leaving foundations vulnerable to uneven settling. In fact, 86% of Cape Coral homes are vulnerable to flooding, the highest percentage in the state. Every time your home or property floods, even if you don’t see any obvious damage, it can be happening, sight unseen, below the surface.

Sinkholes

While sinkholes are common in many parts of Florida, they are less common around Cape Coral. Many of the causes of foundation problems are also ones that can contribute to sinkhole development, and so should not be ignored, even in our area.

Plumbing Leaks

Another way for water to gather more quickly and in greater amounts than can easily drain from the soil around your foundation is as a result of plumbing leaks. These can be from leaks in the pipes on your property, a slow swimming pool leak, septic tank failure, or from the municipal water supply or sewage lines. Regardless of the cause, water pooling from even slow leaks can cause the soil around your foundation to move in unexpected ways and can apply uneven hydrostatic pressure to your foundation, causing you problems.

Poor Drainage

Cape Coral’s sandy soil is generally not very good at draining away excess water. If that poor drainage is made worse by gutter, downspout, and grading issues which fail to move excess water away from your home, the situation is most likely contributing to foundation problems down the road. Construction and paving on your property or neighboring lots can also cause water to flow toward your home instead of draining away from it.

Construction and Maintenance Issues

True for so many projects, good preparation is needed to produce quality results. For your foundation, this means properly compacting the soil before laying the foundation. If the existing soil or terrain isn’t adequate, adding fill before compacting it is necessary. That fill tends to settle at a different rate from the naturally occurring soil, and so must be well compacted to produce an evenly compressible base for your foundation. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen when many of the homes in our area were built, and homeowners are paying the price now with frequent foundation damage. In addition, if foundation problems have gone undetected or addressing those issues has been deferred, foundation damage may have evolved from a minor issue to a critical disaster.

Rarely does a foundation issue present itself as an obvious, major problem at the outset. More often, problems with your foundation will creep up on you in small, barely-noticeable ways at first, growing slowly until you have an expensive and complex repair on your hands. Keeping an eye out for indications of foundation damage, so you can catch it at its earliest stages will generally result in faster, less expensive, less intrusive repairs. Some signs to watch for include:

Cracks

As you might expect, spotting cracks in your foundation is a clear indication that it’s in need of repairs. Other cracks in your home can also send the same message. Cracks may be visible in the exterior or interior, and the more jagged and stair-step-like they are, the more likely they are caused by foundation issues. Cracks may also signal trouble when they appear on your walls or ceilings, particularly if they angle upwards from the corners around doors or windows.

Gaps

Gaps that appear in unexpected places in your home are probably telling you that your foundation is in trouble. Places you may find gaps that indicate this include:

• Gaps where walls meet in corners or where they meet floors or ceilings
• Gaps where walls meet window or door framing
• Gaps between cabinets and walls where cabinets should be flush-mounted against the wall
• Gaps near your foundation or roof line

Water Problems

Whether you notice crawl space dampness or detect mold or mildew, this extra water can be seeping into your foundation. In more severe cases, that seeping water can make its way above your foundation and cause major problems such as warping hardwood floors or even damp spots. You may also notice mold or mildew in your crawl space.

Door and Window Difficulties

Interior and exterior doors in your home should swing freely, while windows should glide smoothly in their tracks or easily move open and closed if they are casement windows. When you notice windows or doors are catching, or that you have a harder time opening or closing them, the problem is more likely caused by foundation issues than by problems specifically with your windows or doors.

Floor and Ceiling Issues

Ceilings in your home may sag or pull away from walls if your foundation is moving unevenly. Similarly, floors may shift, tilt, bulge, or even warp, may show signs of dampness, and floor tiles may even crack under the same stresses and strains.

Wall Problems

Walls may tilt, bow, or bulge, depending on how a foundation shifts. They can also pull away from ceilings, floors, framework, and trim.

While a structural engineer’s evaluation may not always be required to fix your foundation problems in Cape Coral, it can be a smart idea to include that professional input when you evaluate the repairs needed for your foundation. A professional engineering report can examine the soil conditions around your home and suggest the most effective repairs, as well as making suggestions for other improvements to your foundation and property to help prevent worsening problems in the future.

Because the scope of foundation repairs is determined in large part by problems we can’t easily see under your foundation and the soil below, the cost of these repairs can vary widely. On average, though, Cape Coral foundation repairs run from a low price of $3,000 to a high of $5,000 for materials and labor. If you were attentive and lucky, catching problems early on, your costs may be somewhat lower. More extensive problems, on the other hand, may push costs above average. These costs generally account for materials and labor, and can be affected by a variety of other factors, including:

• The type, scope, and nature of work needed to repair your foundation
• Whether any fees for permits, inspections, or other additional work are required
• The cost of the specific materials and equipment needed to repair your foundation at the time the work takes place
• The age, size, and structure of your home. Older homes have been subjected to a longer period of stress and strains, while larger homes or those with more stories can weigh more, putting added burdens on a foundation.
• The specific soil under and around your foundation and how it was prepared at the time your home was constructed
• The terrain, landscaping, and drainage patterns around your home
• How your foundation was constructed
• The extent of repairs you would like to make, and any other preferences you have about how those repairs are done

Because it must fully and safely support the entire foundation, structure, fixtures, furniture, and other contents of your home (and that can be around 160,000 pounds for the average home around Cape Coral!), the makeup of the soil under and around your foundation is critical. In the same way that inadequate or poorly maintained tires can make a car unstable and unsafe, poor or poorly prepared soil can have the same effect on a home.

Most of the soil in the Cape Coral area is called “Matlacha” (just like the village), which is made up of a variety of sands mixed with crushed bits of shells and limestone fragments. This kind of soil is generally poor at draining, and can easily be saturated. It is generally found in areas with a water table that’s fairly close to the surface (about 12-24 inches below). A similar soil, Pineda-Boca-Wabasso, can be found in the Trafalgar and Burnt Store areas as well as around Yellow Fever Creek, while the Oldsmar-Malabar-Immokalee soil is also found in the area around Yellow Fever Creek. These very sandy soils are also not very effective at allowing water to drain away.

All of these sandy, poorly draining soils mean that a good foundation generally will require some fill and plenty of compacting before it can be deemed ready to safely bear the weight of a foundation, and the home and contents that the foundation must support.