When a foundation settles, it often does so unevenly. This puts stress on the mortar joints between your home’s exterior bricks, which can fail and result in what is known as stair-step cracking.

Because poured concrete walls act as a single unit rather than a group of mortared blocks, they often fail at the top instead of cracking and bowing in. The failing wall breaks free from the rest of the structure, leaning in from the top.

Because poured concrete walls act as a single unit rather than a group of mortared blocks, they often fail at the top instead of cracking and bowing in. The failing wall breaks free from the rest of the structure, leaning in from the top.

If your floors sag or are “bouncy,” it’s likely that there is an issue in the crawl space beneath them. Often this can be attributed to foundation pillars that have settled into poorly compacted or otherwise incompetent soil.

When poor soil conditions begin to affect your foundation, your home can settle – often unevenly – putting stress on the entire structure. The first telltale signs often appear as gaps in the weak areas around door and window frames.

As with a brick exterior, stucco can crack under stress as a home’s foundation sinks in an uneven manner. Instead of simply being patched, the underlying issue needs to be addressed to prevent future problems.

When the pressure from the surrounding soil becomes too much for a poured concrete wall to bear, on rare occasions it can crack. Unlike a block wall, a poured wall will usually exhibit cracks that extend diagonally towards its upper corners.

One of the most visible and dramatic signs of foundation settlement is a chimney separating from the house. This often occurs when the home’s foundation sinks at a different rate than the chimney’s foundation.

Just as a ceiling can pull away from an interior wall, so too can a floor, leaving a telltale gap. This occurs when a home’s foundation has sunk unevenly, putting stress on the structure above.

As a foundation settles, it typically does so at an uneven rate. This causes stress on the home above as its frame slowly twists and becomes irregular. One of the signs of this stress is a gap between an interior wall and the ceiling above it.