Do you know what is recommended for maintenance after your Anchor Foundation Repair project is completed? You’re probably wondering if there is anything you can do to protect your investment and keep things firmly in place since the repairs are now complete. Now you’re thinking with not-so-veiled exasperation and a slight eye twitch, “But wait . . . there’s more???”
Don’t let this article trigger your PTFRD (that’s post-traumatic foundation repair disorder). We know that foundation repair is *kind of a big production* that you have just lived through. At this point, you would rather not think about it anymore.
And guess what . . . we agree with you . . . like, don’t think about it anymore . . .
After completing 4000+ foundation repair jobs in our 35 years in business, Anchor Foundation Repair is 100% sure that our methods keep the long-term stability of your home as its #1 priority.
You have placed your faith in our repair experts to take care of the foundation needs of your home. We want you to continue to feel confident that our thorough techniques and meticulous process are working hard for you, long after we have packed up and left your property.
In other words, get back to enjoying your home and move on to other fun projects if you want. Here are some gentle guidelines for you to consider that will help soothe you back into serenity.
- Forget Preventative Maintenance
- Put Your Furniture Wherever You Want
- Start Your Remodeling Project
- Remember the Warranty
- Listen to Your Home
- Enjoy Living Your Best Life
We think this is probably the most exciting numbered list you have seen from us so far, so let’s see what these tasks are all about!
1. Forget Preventative Maintenance
Many homeowners ask us if an irrigation system to regularly water the foundation is a good idea. Or just if watering the foundation is something that needs to be done all the time now. What about root barriers to keep tree roots away? We’re thinking . . . nah. . .
Watering Your Foundation
Some home maintenance gurus would suggest watering your foundation. But here’s the thing, installing an irrigation system costs more money. Then, doing extensive watering around your home will raise your water bill quite a bit too. Don’t spend more money.
The bell-bottom pier method used by Anchor Foundation Repair is built to withstand normal climate conditions in our area. Meaning, the piers can tolerate normal levels of wet and dry and continue to support your foundation as it should without the need for more homeowner action.
Water your lawn, plants, and landscaping as usual, but don’t go to any special or extra effort to keep the soil around the foundation in a state of constant irrigation. We put this item first for a reason, don’t you feel better already?
Installing Root Barriers
Tree roots can intrude upon foundations. So, someone invented this thing where you dig a trench at the drip line of the tree and bury a rigid piece of plastic in the ground to block the roots from growing past the trench. Sounds fun, right?
There are a couple of problems with this idea. First, the chances that your tree’s drip line is perfectly placed just beyond your foundation is slim. So you really can’t do it right if the tree is not in the exact right place or you might do it wrong and kill your tree by compromising the root system.
Also, inserting a rigid barrier in the ground can create other water flow/drainage problems or water pooling on the wrong side of the barrier. Poor drainage and standing water can lead to other foundation issues. So it’s best to skip it.
2. Put Your Furniture Wherever You Want
Homes are designed to carry loads. They carry the weight of the structure itself and all the things the home builder put together inside (walls, cabinets, fixtures), aka dead load. This weight never changes.
They also are engineered to carry the changing weight of objects inside the home (furniture and all your stuff), aka the live load. Your home plus the extra support of the foundation repair can carry any load that you throw at it.
So, feel free to put your grand piano next to your waterbed and use your gun safe as the nightstand. The house can take it. Nothing that you can move around in your house is likely to have any negative effect on your foundation or your recent foundation repair.
3. Start Your Remodeling Project
Waiting to start remodeling projects on your home until after foundation repair is completed is a good idea. But how long do you have to wait until you can start the remodeling process?
Good news . . . you can pretty much start right away with rigid work like flooring, doors, backsplashes, countertops, and things like that. Electrical and plumbing repairs are also okay to move forward with, as well as changing out appliances.
For repairing cracks in walls and painting, you might want to wait just a little while. Since walls are made of a softer material, they are more susceptible and sensitive to additional movement. Just in case things move around slightly as they are settling in, we suggest waiting about 2-3 months’ time before patching cracks and painting walls.
A note about tile . . .
Be aware of installing expansive fields of tile in a home that has needed foundation repair (or even one that has not!). Your home is still sitting on expansive soils and your recent foundation repair has not changed that.
Tile has many grout lines and potential points of expansion and cracking. The more tile you install, the more expansion points you are placing in your home that need to stay in place.
Not that you can’t use tile, but the bigger the field of tile or room that you put it in, the higher the risk of a grout line compromise. Also, the larger the size of each tile piece can increase the risk of cracked tile. We suggest using tile in smaller sections, rather than throughout your entire home as a way to safeguard against cosmetic cracking issues.
4. Remember the Warranty
We live in Texas, so for sure remember the Alamo, but also remember the warranty you have for your Anchor Foundation Repair project.
Homeowners that have chosen to use Anchor Foundation Repair might have done so because of our generous warranty policy. We are confident that our repair methods are the longest-lasting option out there and you should share in that confidence too. Anchor will make adjustments to the level of your home using the previously installed piers without cost when needed within the first five years.
After five years, there is a cost for service agreement work but it is minimal in comparison to your initial foundation repair project cost. We estimate that less than 5% of our previous customers might need warranty work in the future. So there’s a 95% chance that you won’t need a thing from us down the line.
There’s a 100% chance that we will be there for you when needed. For more detailed information about our lifetime warranty. It’s another witty and well-written article for you to enjoy.
5. Enjoy Living Your Best Life
A home provides security, ownership, belonging, identity, privacy, and comfort to those on the inside. Your home is your center that you leave in the morning and return to in the evening as a place of respite. Enjoy this shelter from all things outside of it and move forward with making memories.
Leave behind your sense of unrest about repairs being needed on your home. They are done and it’s time to breathe and lean into the security of a well-done lifelong foundation repair.
While you are enjoying your home for the long term, know that your recent foundation repair continues to work for you even though our professional team is no longer on site. Though we may not be there at the home actively lifting your foundation, our piers will be doing their job for years to come.
Bell-bottom piers will continually resist upheaval and settling, providing strength, stability, and support to your family and home.
6. Listen to Your Home
While you should no longer be on *high alert*, continue to check your home and foundation for potential issues. Take notice of changes that might make you go, “hmmmmm.”
Since you are there, you are the first one that will have the opportunity to notice that something needs attention. Listen to your home, look for any signs that might be telling you that further foundation settling might be occurring.
If you see cracks or separations in the same wall or trim locations as before, or doors and windows start sticking again, or if you notice similar recurring plumbing problems, these are indicators that your foundation could need an adjustment.
If you notice standing water or poor drainage around the foundation, take steps to fix those things, and observe the results. These signs are there for you to tell you action might be needed. Listen and see the signs.
As part of our ongoing care for homeowners, we pledge to check on you periodically after a repair is completed, but don’t wait to let us know if you see something of concern. Our Contact Form will get you started if your home is telling you to act.
Until you hear from us or we hear from you, we thank you for the opportunity to serve you. Please enjoy your newfound peace of mind about your foundation by forgetting all about it unless you see an issue.
Tell others about your experience with Anchor Foundation Repair
We have likely asked this already, but have you completed any reviews on your experience with us? Homeowner feedback in the form of online reviews is so helpful to your friends and neighbors when they are looking for foundation repair contractors themselves.
More and more people really listen and depend on your input about these kinds of things. Help out others in your community by providing them with meaningful information about Anchor Foundation Repair’s service to you. Thank you for your help!