Cracks Appearing In Your Walls – It May Be Caused By These Things

Many people take so many things for granted until it becomes too late. Living in a house with a roof over your head is cool, but that roof is not eternal. Nor are eternal walls around you and everything made from physical matter. This is why maintaining your home is very important if you want to continue living in it. If walls start to crack, that can cascade into many more unwanted damages. Finding wall cracks is perfectly fine, it happens everywhere. The important thing is to find wall cracks and fix them as soon as possible. Here are some of the most common causes of wall cracks.

Foundation damage leads to wall cracks

Buying an old house is a great way to save money on upfront costs. However, an old house will almost certainly come with problems that you need to fix. When you buy an older house, you should first start looking for foundation repair signs and then think about other problems. Older houses are much more prone to having foundation damage which leads to cracks in walls.

A sinking house will also show bulging floors, which can cause even more problems. Evaluating these signs is very important so you can start repairing them as soon as possible. By calling an expert to inspect your foundation, you will know exactly what is wrong.

Natural settling

As time passes, so does the soil around your house change. Some houses require more soil disruption and some houses require less. Over time, the soil starts populating with other life which also causes more movement. This is a natural process that you can not avoid, but you can prepare for it.

This type of movement causes small vertical cracks and does not require much repair work. However, if your area was recently flooded, the water in the soil can cause additional movement. Be vary of what is about to come and contact a local expert about the soil situation.

Humidity variations

Walls are not inert structures, especially if they have wooden components inside of them. Varying humidity can cause fluctuation in the volume of wood and thus cause cracks. This is why it is very important to check if the wood is well protected. Besides this physical parameter, it can cause other more serious issues.

These cracks can let in even more moisture, and thus cause mold to spread. Not only mold but other critters can move in like rats and termites. The greater effect becomes much stronger than just the summation of all the above. You should check your insulation to see if it still holds. If it does not, that could be the reason why moisture is getting inside your walls.

Tree roots cause wall cracks

Trees are very beautiful and essential for our daily lives. However, we never see the actual scope of how large trees are. The bigger the tree is, the bigger the roots beneath the tree. These roots are just looking for water and other minerals in the ground. These roots can cause soil movement, and thus cause cracks.

It is very important to watch out for what types of trees are around you in order to prevent this. The effects usually begin to show later and overtime because roots just keep on growing. Prevention is the best way to stop this problem, so do not plant such trees near your home.

These causes were selected because of how common they are for wall cracks. There are more reasons that could explain them, but these are the most common ones. If you do notice these signs and causes, you should not panic.

Panicking will not make any of this better, but it can cause more damage. By staying calm and finding professional support, you will be able to solve the problem. It is very important to stay calm in such situations if you do not want the problem to prevail.