7 Things Every Florida Homeowner Should Check Around Their Home

Foundation problems rarely announce themselves overnight. More often, your home starts giving you clues — a new crack, a door that suddenly sticks, an uneven section of concrete, water collecting near the foundation, or a floor that just doesn’t feel the way it used to.

That’s why Foundation Professionals of Florida created The FPI Foundation Check™ — a simple seven-point walk-through homeowners can use to identify changes around their property that may deserve a closer look. You don’t need to know anything about foundations. You just need to know what to look for.

  • 1. Check Your Walls for New or Changing Cracks

    Walk around the inside and outside of your home and look for cracks that are new, getting longer, getting wider, or have noticeably changed.

    Pay particular attention to:

    What does it mean?

    Not every crack means your home has a foundation problem. Florida homes can develop cracks for several reasons. What matters most is change.

    A crack that appears suddenly, continues growing, or occurs with other symptoms may indicate movement that should be evaluated.

Example of what a drywall crack inside a home looks like. Cracks like this are cause for concern.

  • 2. Check Your Doors and Windows

    Open and close several doors and windows throughout your home.

    Look for:

    Why check them?

    As portions of a structure move, door and window openings can shift slightly out of square.

    The door may be where you notice the problem — but it may not be where the problem started.

Example of a gap in a door frame caused by a settling foundation.

  • 3. Check Your Floors

    Walk slowly through each room and pay attention to what you feel under your feet.

    Look and feel for:

    Your feet can sometimes notice movement before your eyes do.

    Changes in a floor can have several causes, including moisture, damaged framing, crawl space conditions, or movement beneath the structure.

    The important question is: Has something changed?

  • 4. Check Where the Water Goes

    The best time to perform this part of the FPI Foundation Check™ is after a good Florida rainstorm.

    Walk around your home and look for:

    Why does this matter in Florida?

    Water can change the conditions of the soil supporting your home. Poor drainage, erosion, heavy rainfall and changing groundwater conditions can contribute to soil movement and foundation-related problems.

    Water shouldn’t consistently have nowhere to go.

Example of pooling water around the base of a slab foundation.

  • 5. Check the Concrete Around Your Home

    Walk your driveway, sidewalks, patio, front porch and pool deck.

    Look for:

    Don’t automatically assume sunken concrete has to be torn out.

    Depending on the cause and condition of the slab, some settled concrete can be lifted and leveled using polyurethane concrete lifting. The bigger question is why the concrete moved in the first place.

Example of an uneven pool deck, causing a trip hazard.
Example of deteriorating wood in a crawl space below a Florida home.

  • 7. Check What Has Changed

    This may be the most important part of the entire FPI Foundation Check™.

    Think back six months or a year.

    Ask yourself:

    Was that crack there before?
    Did that door always stick?
    Has that section of driveway sunk farther?
    Did the floor always slope like that?
    Has water always collected there?

    Homes change over time. Not every change is evidence of a serious structural problem. But new, worsening or multiple symptoms deserve attention.

    One of the easiest ways to monitor your home is to take pictures of anything questionable. Photograph the same area periodically so you have something objective to compare.

Why Florida Homes Require a Different Look

Florida isn’t like most of the country when it comes to what lies beneath our homes.

Our properties can be affected by combinations of:

  • Sandy soils
  • Limestone geology
  • Heavy seasonal rainfall
  • High groundwater
  • Soil erosion
  • Drainage problems
  • Sinkhole activity
  • Coastal conditions
  • Changes in soil moisture

That doesn’t mean every crack, sticking door or uneven slab is a foundation failure. It means diagnosing the cause matters.

Treating the symptom without understanding what caused it can lead to unnecessary repairs — or leave the real problem unresolved.

See Something? Have FPI Take a Look.

If you found something during your FPI Foundation Check™ that doesn’t look right, you don’t have to diagnose it yourself.

That’s our job.

Foundation Professionals of Florida can evaluate the visible symptoms, conditions around the property and potential causes to help determine whether repair is necessary and what options may make sense.

Schedule your FREE home inspection today.

📞 855-934-7688

FoundationProsFL.com

Florida Foundation Problems Require Florida Experience

Foundation Professionals of Florida provides foundation, geotechnical and structural solutions throughout Florida, including:

We work with homeowners, commercial property owners, engineers, contractors, HOAs and municipalities throughout Florida.

The FPI Approach

We don’t start with a product.

We start with the problem.

A crack doesn’t automatically mean you need piers.

Sunken concrete doesn’t automatically mean it needs replacement.

Standing water doesn’t automatically mean you have a foundation problem.

Every property is different, and the right repair begins with understanding why the problem is happening.

See the signs. Understand the cause. Fix the right problem.

Foundation Professionals of Florida

Florida is Our Foundation.™