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Here we answer questions about getting a home or commercial inspection, give tips on home maintenance, and share our knowledge about common home and commercial property issues. We are here to help you. If you can’t find an answer to your questions here, you can always contact us via our contact page.

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Category: Issues and Concerns

Foundation and Crawlspace
Madison Smith

Horizontal Crack in Basement Wall Serious What to Do Next

You're halfway down the basement stairs when you spot it, a horizontal line running across the block wall, maybe with a little dampness, maybe with a slight curve in the wall that you hadn't noticed before. That's the kind of finding that makes people stop and stare, because a horizontal

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Foundation and Crawlspace
Madison Smith

Water Coming Through Basement Wall After Rain

You've just come downstairs after a hard storm, flashlight in hand, and found a dark streak running down the basement wall. Maybe there's a shallow puddle where the wall meets the floor. Maybe the concrete has a white, crusty residue, or a hairline crack is slowly wetting the surface. Water

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Foundation and Crawlspace
Madison Smith

How to Stop Water Coming Into Basement After Heavy Rain

The storm is still working its way across the neighborhood when you hear the sump pump start cycling faster. Then you notice the dark stain spreading where the basement wall meets the floor. A shop vacuum can't keep up, cardboard smells damp, and the dog refuses to go near the

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Foundation and Crawlspace
Madison Smith

Stair Step Cracks in Brick House Missouri: What They Mean

You notice it while walking past the side of the house, perhaps after a dry spell or a stretch of heavy rain. The mortar line beside a window no longer looks straight. It rises and drops in a diagonal staircase, and suddenly a routine maintenance question becomes, “Is this a

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Foundation and Crawlspace
Madison Smith

7 Signs of Foundation Settlement in Missouri Homes

Missouri homes deal with a rough combination for foundation movement: expansive clay soils, more than 100 annual freeze-thaw cycles in the Kansas City area, and a 36-inch frost depth that can add seasonal stress below footings (Kansas City foundation repair overview). One crack or one sticking door doesn't automatically prove

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Foundation and Crawlspace
Madison Smith

7 Common Basement Problems in Missouri Homes

A lot of Missouri homeowners end up in the same spot. You go downstairs after a storm, catch a musty smell, notice a white chalky line on the wall, or spot a crack near the corner and wonder whether you're looking at normal aging or the start of a bigger

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Foundation and Crawlspace
Madison Smith

Why Do Basements Leak in Missouri and What to Do Next

After a Missouri spring thunderstorm, the first sign may be a damp strip along the basement wall, a puddle beside the sump crock, or a musty smell rising through the stairwell. The water may look minor, but the useful question isn't only where did it appear? It's why did it

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