The foundation is the very base where your home is securely constructed. While sturdy and resilient, outside factors ranging from soil erosion to weather conditions can have a negative impact on the stability of the foundation.
Korrect General Contractors, your full service general contractor, shares the common cause of home foundation problems.
Soil Erosion
Erosion of soil is one of the leading causes of home foundation problems. It occurs either due to a loss or gain in soil moisture. The latter is more common and usually happens during rain or a storm. Soil can retain only a certain amount of moisture and when it exceeds that, it moves and shifts into place.
When the soil moves, the foundation comes along with it. As the foundation continues to move, the force puts pressure on the floors and walls, causing cracks to form. In more extreme cases, the foundation will shift in place, resulting in the property dipping, sagging, or outright moving in place.
Timely home foundation repair is often enough to solve foundation problems due to soil erosion. For older homes that have a history of this problem, it may be necessary to add a bell bottom pier or a similar structure to steady and “correct” the foundation in place.
When Trees Attack
In some cases, the cause of your foundation problems may be due to a tree attacking the foundation. Many homeowners underestimate the power of tree roots. In their quest for water, they will force their way into everything – be it soil or concrete, just to find a source of moisture.
Larger trees with overreaching roots are especially dangerous as they can rupture pipes which can cause soil erosion on top of damaging the foundation itself. The fact that the roots can plow through loose and damp soil easy only makes it worse.
You can solve this problem by cutting down the roots, but this may require extensive landscaping. An alternative way to go about this is adding patches of clay soil where the roots are overreaching. Unlike loose soil, clay compacts very easily and becomes denser as the trees push through them. This effectively stops the rampant growth of the roots.
Korrect General Contractors offers complete residential construction services. When you work with us, our team will assess the condition of your foundation and recommend the best strategy to address it. Call us today at (817) 725-7769 to learn more about our services. We offer expert home foundation repair in Arlington, TX.
