Is There a Difference Between Foundation Wall Cracks and Other Wall Cracks?

Foundation wall cracks are definitely a severe problem that can lead to a variety of long-lasting concerns. However, you can still have issues even if you have cracks in walls that aren’t foundation walls. It’s just the case that cracks in foundation walls will tend to be more harmful than cracks in other walls. Here are some of the ways in which these cracks will differ.   

• Severity of the Damage  

Cracks in foundation walls tend to be more severe than cracks in other walls. This is partially because the cracks in the foundation walls will often indicate other problems. Foundation walls are supporting the entirety of your home, while other walls are often only supporting a very small section of your home, making them less severe. 

It’s also important to remember that foundation wall cracks can sometimes be the reason for the other wall cracks. For example, if you’re seeing cracks along the bottom of walls that aren’t your foundation walls, it may be a problem with your home’s foundation that’s showing up in issues with other walls. Checking for foundation problems can be very helpful in this situation. 

• Extent of the Damage  

Foundation wall cracks are much more likely to cause expansive amounts of damage when it comes to the distance from the initial crack. Essentially, with a foundation wall crack, it’s significantly more likely that you’ll experience problems in other parts of your home; when you have a crack in a non-foundation wall, the damage is likely only visible in that wall. 

Even if the crack is the main problem and it isn’t coming from an underlying cause, foundation wall cracks are much more likely to cause radiating amounts of damage than other walls. That’s because of the way in which the foundation walls work – they bear a lot of weight, which makes it more likely that even a small crack will develop into a serious problem.