Have you noticed any cracks on your walls? Or are you having problems opening your front door? These are signs that your home may be sliding off it's foundation and it's happening all across Central Texas.
Deborah Morton's home isn't exactly "Home Sweet Home" these days. "It was cracking and falling so much that it was about to go into the street. So we took care of the front part of the house just in time otherwise our house would have been condemned," she said.
Her home was sinking and she's not the only one.
"Last year and this year we haven't had much rain and the slabs are sinking because of the drought," said Labor Foreman for First Choice House Leveling, Robert Howard.
Howard says he is seeing this problem all across central Texas."It can cause damage to the pipes, the sewer system and water lines underneath the house and a lot of people experience sewer leaks under the house," he said.
There's a simple, but labor intensive solution.
Piers are placed on top of one another underground, "until they won't go anymore and start to lift the house," said Howard.
"This was an inch open," said Deborah as she shows KCEN News the cracks in her walls. "But it's slowly but surely closing back up," she said after just one day since First Choice House Leveling began working on her home.
Deborah now knows what to look for. She had cracks in her walls, outside on her bricks, and her front door would not open.
Water is your foundation's best friend. The drought may make it tough, but it's recommended that you water your foundation as often as you can. And do a daily crack check, otherwise you may not be as lucky as Deborah.
"If the foundation cracks too much and they get to the point where they can't raise the house, they can't fix it anymore," said Deborah.
Each hole for the pillars are about 4 feet deep and it can take about an hour and 15 minutes just to dig. But an entire home, that can take up to three days to level.
Most companies will give you a free estimate of the damage. However, depending on how many pillars a company will need to level your home, it can cost you anywhere from $3,000 -$10,000.
