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Home Foundation Fall Maintenance Tips

November 24, 2016

Foundation repair

Texas soil is very high in clay. This is bad for a home’s foundation because clay soil can expand and contract during periods of rain and sunshine. This can lead to your home’s foundation shifting and begin cracking from the soil movements. To prevent this, you should water the soil around your foundation to keep the moisture level consistent. Furthermore, soil around the foundation should be watered in the winter time – and not just the summer months.

According to the Jean-Louis Briaud who reported to the Dallas News/Dallas Morning News:

“Clay soil acts like a sponge,” according to Jean-Louis Briaud, a civil engineering professor at Texas A&M in College Station and the president of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, adding, “And just like a sponge, clay soil shrinks and expands when moisture changes.”

Water & Foundation

In order to prevent water from accumulating around the edges of your foundation, the landscape should be sloped away from the house so that water does not build up there. This includes any flower beds that you have surrounding your house. Also, make sure that water does not gather around areas next to your gutters. You want to encourage an even distribution of water throughout your lawn.

Trees & Foundation

Tree roots love water, and water under your foundation can attract them there. But once they drink all the water from that spot, the roots will be off in search of more water. This can lead to those roots to dying off, and then gaps can form in the soil when they rot away. That can cause damage to the foundation above it when the earth fills in those gaps. For this reason, trees should be planted a safe distance away from the home or a root barrier can be installed. Even something as simple as charcoal can be used as a root barrier but nowadays nylon or metal fabrics are used instead.

Have questions about your homes foundation? Contact us to see how we can help with your affordable foundation repair.

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