Foundation problems give you warning signs long before they become emergencies — if you know what to look for. On the Bay Area’s expansive clay, the following signs are your home’s way of telling you the foundation is shifting. Any one of them is worth a free inspection; several together usually mean it is time to act.

Inside Your Home

• Cracks in drywall, especially diagonal cracks running from the corners of doors and windows
• Doors and windows that stick, jam, or suddenly will not latch
• Sloping, sagging, or bouncy floors, or gaps where the floor meets the baseboard
• Cracked tile or grout that keeps reopening after repair
• Gaps at the tops of walls or where walls meet the ceiling

Outside Your Home

• Stair-step cracks in the brick or mortar, following the joints
• Gaps around garage doors, windows, or where the chimney pulls away from the house
• Cracks in the slab, patio, walkway, or driveway that keep widening
• Doors that no longer line up squarely in their frames

What These Signs Mean

Individually, some of these can be harmless — a hairline crack or a door that sticks in humid weather. But when several appear together, or when a crack keeps growing, the foundation is almost certainly moving. The movement will not reverse on its own, and waiting usually means a bigger, costlier repair and more damage to walls, plumbing, and finishes.

What to Do Next

You do not have to guess. A free inspection with elevation readings measures exactly what is happening and tells you plainly whether it is cosmetic or structural. If it is nothing, we will say so. Serving League City, Clear Lake, Friendswood, Dickinson, and Kemah.