Not every crack in your home is a reason for concern. Some cracks are negligible, while others require immediate professional help. Now the question is how to know what kind of crack you are dealing with. For this purpose, you need to understand the main difference between structural and nonstructural cracks.
What are Non-structural cracks?
They are cracks that require your attention, but they aren’t the warning signs. These cracks appear due to weather conditions, aging, water pressure on the walls, or excess moisture. In simple words, these cracks occur due to some natural factors like when a home starts aging; cracks start appearing. You often see cracks near doors and windows. These cracks are usually one or two millimeters wide.
These cracks are also known as cosmetic cracks. As they appear on plaster or other surfaces, you cover them with injections, and they don’t pose a serious risk or danger to structural integrity for years. The real problem begins when water starts seeping from these cracks. At this point, you need to hire structural wall repair contractors.
What are Structural cracks?
They are known as structural cracks as they pose severe damage to your home foundation and structure. As soon as you notice these cracks, you will have to hire foundation repair experts. If you don’t, then the problem will become severe, and your home may collapse due to negligence.
These cracks appear on the wall and ceiling due to poor construction, low-quality material, poor soil bearing, or overloading. Structural cracks are diagonal cracks or stair-like cracks. At first, they might not have water coming out of them, but soon you will see water seeping, and it’s an alarming situation.
Structural cracks are more comprehensive, and they measure one-eighth inches in width. Whenever you notice cracks on concrete slabs or beams, they are tell-tale signs of structural damage. They tell you that structures beneath walls or slabs have been either shifted or settled.
What to Do?
When you are unsure what kind of cracks you are dealing with, the best idea is to get free inspection services from Foundation experts. These professionals will tell you whether the problem is minor or severe. When you see wide cracks, please don’t delay anymore as it will lead to a complicated situation and thus, you need to pay a lot for extensive repair to structural wall repair contractors.
Should You be Worried?
You don’t need to panic after looking at some wide cracks on your walls or stair-like cracks on your foundation wall. Worrying about a problem won’t help you; the right move is to find its solution. Cracks appear on walls from time to time. Sometimes buildings have cracks due to aging or weather exposure. Having many cracks on walls is okay as long as they don’t cross the length and breadth of your foundation- it should ring a bell in your mind.
Always seek foundation repair solutions for structural cracks by hiring the best contractors in your area.
