Sources of Foundation Problems

Foundation problems are caused by a combination of soil conditions, the weather and inadequate foundation maintenance.

Indications of Foundation Problems
Symptoms of foundation problems include cracks in brick and sheetrock, windows that won’t open, doors that won’t close, cracks in the foundation, cracks in tile floors and many more . . .

Sometimes of these symptoms can simply be cosmetically repaired. Complete underpinning of the foundation may not be necessary.

It takes an expert to properly diagnose true foundation problems. Just because you have some or all of these symptoms, does not mean that you need foundation repair.

Causes of Foundation Damage

Soil Conditions
In many areas of Texas, the near surface soil is of expansive clay. Expansive clay behaves differently than sandy soil:

Sandy soil does not expand when it gets wet. The water fills the air spaces between the grains of sand. Because of this the soil volume doesn’t change and there is little movement of structures supported by the soil when the soil moisture conditions alternate between wet and dry.

Unfortunately, uniform shrinking and swelling doesn’t usually happen. The result is “differential” foundation movement, which causes cracking and distress in the foundation and finishes.

Although there may be a number of layers and types of expansive clay or other soil under a particular structure, the shrinking and swelling process is usually limited to soil that is near enough to the ground surface to be affected by climatic conditions. Many engineers refer to these upper soil layers as the “active zone”. While the depth of the “active zone” depends on both site and soil conditions, site specific geotechnical investigations typically result in estimates of this depth ranging between eight and fifteen feet below the ground surface.

Weather and Climate
Alternating periods of hot, dry weather and cool, wet weather cause the soil to expand and contract unevenly causing differential foundation movement. Hot dry summers cause clay soils to contract. Cool wet and rainy winters cause these soil to expand. This may result in excessive stress in your home’s foundation, framing and finishes.

The excessive stresses due to unequal expansion and contraction of the soil across the foundation can impair the performance of the foundation, necessitating underpinning or other remedial measures. For example, in the summer, the soil will contract faster on the southern and western sides than on the northern and eastern sides of the home. In a more normal environment expansion and contraction is complicated by drainage and grading, vegetation (trees and bushes) and other effects that impact how the soil near and under the foundation expands and contracts.

Foundation Maintenance
When a home is built, the foundation is usually constructed based on specific engineering design recommendations to minimize the risk of foundation damage. These design recommendations, as they relate to the foundation, include landscaping, grading, plumbing and other details intended to limit changes in soil moisture. As the weather changes, as the home ages and as renovations and changes are made in the home and the surrounding landscaping, the foundation may be impacted.

Homeowners can take active steps to maintain their foundations. Typically these include watering the foundation to keep the soil near the foundation ‘uniformly’ moist.

As trees and bushes are installed and grow, they can draw water from the soil under the foundation and potentially diminish foundation performance.

Changes in the grading around the house, whether due to renovations or additions, such as, fencing or planting beds, can cause water to pool near the foundation resulting in uneven expansion of the soil.

Plumbing leaks can happen and, if not immediately diagnosed and repaired, can cause increases in soil moisture under the foundation, also resulting in uneven expansion of the soil.

Other sources of potentially damaging water near the foundation include air conditioning condensation lines, dripping outdoor faucets, and leaky watering systems.

Measures of Foundation Damage - How much is too much?
Answering the ‘how much is too much?’ question for homeowners as it pertains to foundation repair is difficult and complex. It should only be answered after consultation with a foundation professional.

Homeowners have to grapple with the everyday trade-offs between budget, unsightly cracks in the sheetrock and brickwork, sticky windows and doors, risk that something worse might happen and the loss of resale value in their home. Because this is a complex and sometimes emotional issue, Roger Bullivant has developed foundation inspection processes and guidelines to assist you in making a proper determination and action plan moving forward.

In some cases this plan may include a simple foundation maintenance program or a monitoring program. In other cases, grading or landscaping may help to mitigate the symptoms. Only when necessary will Roger Bullivant, based on more than 20 years of foundation experience and their Professional Engineering expertise, recommend foundation underpinning to stabilize the foundation.