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2 easy ways to spot expensive home foundation issues that could cost you thousands, according to a TikTok-famous home inspector

Feb 11, 2021, 01:51 IST
Insider
Home inspector Bryan Standley identifies hidden problems in houses that can turn them into money sinks.@bryanstandley/TikTok
  • Home inspector Bryan Standley has become TikTok-famous for revealing hidden problems in houses.
  • Foundation movement can cost homeowners thousands of dollars to repair, Standley told Insider.
  • Standley recommends 2 simple tricks homeowners can use to spot a faulty foundation and save money.
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Kansas City home inspector Bryan Standley, 35, has become a TikTok sensation for revealing hidden problems that can turn houses into money pits for homebuyers.

Standley has inspected thousands of homes over the course of his career, reviewing everything from roofs to electrical systems. Inspired by a friend, he joined TikTok in January 2020 to share his tips and experiences. He now has over 26,000 followers, and his videos have been liked more than 568,000 times at the time of writing.

While many things can go wrong in a home, foundation movement can be among the most expensive, costing thousands of dollars in repairs. Foundation movement is when the foundation of a home shifts over time and is something Standley sees in about 1 out of every 5 homes he inspects.

HomeAdvisor reports that the average homeowner will pay around $4,500 to repair foundation issues, with major repairs costing more than $10,000.

Standley spoke to Insider about why identifying foundation movement will save you money in the long run and shared two simple tricks he uses how to identify a faulty foundation.

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Foundation movement can cost you thousands of dollars if you don't catch it early enough

Foundation movement over a long period of time is normal, but if a house "settles" over a single season or just a few years, that should be cause for concern, Standley told Insider.

The culprit is often water. When soil expands, it can push against foundations, causing everything from small cracks in the drywall and hallway doors that stick to "bigger problems" like uneven floors, cracked concrete, and damaged sewer lines, he said.

In a TikTok video, Standley points out how foundation movement is a symptom of drainage issues like a yard that slopes in toward a home and gutters that spill next to the foundation:

If foundation movement is caught early enough, "it can be fixed simply by controlling the drainage around the house - diverting gutters away and adding soil to any low areas next to the foundation," Standley told Insider.

"If it is not caught in time, it can cost a couple of thousand dollars per wall to have steel restraints installed," he said.

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According to HomeAdvisor, foundation stabilization can cost between $4,000 and $12,000 for 12 strips of reinforcement.

Read more: 3 red flags to look for when buying a renovated home, according to an inspector who roasts flipped houses on TikTok

One easy way to identify a faulty foundation is to measure the exterior of a home using your hand

Foundation damage isn't always obvious.

Sometimes home sellers will try to cover up faulty foundations by adding drywall to basement interiors or covering foundation exteriors with a thin coat of mortar known as a parge coat, according to Standley.

These "are quick and easy ways to conceal cracks," he told Insider.

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Fortunately, there are also quick and easy hacks to identify faulty foundations.

In a TikTok video, Standley shows how to determine if a house foundation has moved using just your hand.

If the center of a basement wall leans away from the house's exterior more than the corners do, that indicates a common type of foundation movement known as basement wall rotation, he told Insider.

You can also use common tools and household items like a laser level and marbles to determine if a foundation is uneven

To determine whether or not a floor is flat, Standley often uses professional tools like a precision digital altimeter.

"If you don't have one of these, you can use a laser level," he told Insider.

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In another video, he shows exactly how to use a laser level together with a plumb line (a string with a weight attached to it) near an exposed foundation wall to determine if a wall is leaning:

If you don't have either of these tools, you can even use a "handful of marbles dropped on the floor to check for low spots," Standley told Insider.

While Standley enjoys sharing tips that can help future home buyers identify faults in a house, his main recommendation is to hire a qualified home inspector.

To see more of Bryan's videos, follow him on TikTok @bryanstandley. You can learn more about his home-inspection business at inspectkc.com.

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