TL;DR
Foundation settlement is the downward movement of a structure as the soil beneath it compresses, shrinks, or washes away — uniform when the whole building sinks evenly, differential when one section drops relative to another, which is the damaging kind. Telltales include stair-step cracks in masonry, doors that rack out of square, sloping floors, and trim gaps that open seasonally.
What it means
Foundation settlement is the downward movement of a structure as the soil beneath it compresses, shrinks, or washes away — uniform when the whole building sinks evenly, differential when one section drops relative to another, which is the damaging kind. Telltales include stair-step cracks in masonry, doors that rack out of square, sloping floors, and trim gaps that open seasonally. Diagnosis distinguishes ongoing movement from old, stabilized settlement using elevation surveys and crack monitoring, because only active cases justify pier underpinning.
Where it sits in the glossary
Foundation settlement is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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