Are you a homeowner looking to learn how to use maintenance to prevent foundation failure? If so, you have come to the right place. Firstly, as professional home inspectors we have inspected thousands of homes since 1998. Secondly, we built and remodeled hundreds of homes and apartments before that. After all that time, the Professionals at Wildcat Inspections can offer insight into that goal. This series will guide you through general maintenance, landscaping, drainage, tree care and other issues that can keep your foundation on a “level” playing field.
What Causes Foundation Failure?
As a home buyer one of the main topics you might want to know about is what causes foundation failure. The next is what you can do to maintain your foundation and prevent foundation failure. Here are few Pro Tips from the Wildcat Inspection Team.
Design And Construction Can Prevent Foundation Failure
Looking at the broader picture the critical performance of residential structures begins with proper design. That is to say that it must be engineered specifically for the site on which it will be built. Next there must be thorough construction practices including adequate supervision. Those will ensure that the design is implemented. But an equally important phase is a continuous and properly implemented foundation maintenance program.
Homeowner Awareness Can Prevent Foundation Failure
In our capacity as home inspectors and remodeling contractors we’ve found hundreds of house foundations that experienced major problems. Many engineers and other specialists have diagnosed the problems we observed. Our experience has shown that foundation failures due to design and construction are very rare. The most common factor for structural movement is a lack of maintenance around the foundation. It’s a common inspection issue with older homes.
Most of those problems were caused by homeowner neglect or alterations made to the initial design, drainage, or landscaping. This has resulted in considerable financial loss for the homeowners, builders, and designers in the form of repairs and litigation. To avoid this, you must maintain your foundation to prevent failure.
Soil Conditions Contribute To Foundation Failure
A home’s foundation may still experience distress from vegetation and expansive soil. Distress can occur regardless of how well a house foundation is designed and constructed. A slab on ground foundation can experience a staggering amount of movement. This most often occurs when correct drainage was not initially established or is uncontrolled where a water source is provided. That water can be in the form of rain, excess watering, dripping faucets or other causes.
There are several types of house foundations in Texas. They consist of pier and beam type foundation, spread footing foundation, conventionally reinforced slab (rebar), or a post-tensioned slab (cables).
The first step to properly designing a foundation is to perform a soils investigation. After that the question of how soil conditions affect a house foundation can be addressed in the engineered design.
Inconstant subsoil conditions
Inconstant subsoil conditions are found in the State of Texas depending on the area. Parts of Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and other places in Texas are built on expansive soils. As a matter of fact, the east side of the state is almost all expansive clay-type soil. This is a principal contributor to foundation failure unless moisture is controlled in the supporting soil.
Mixed soil conditions
Mixed soil conditions are also a concern to the designer as well as the homeowner. In North and West Houston, including portions of The Energy Corridor, The Woodlands, Kingwood, Atascocita, Cypresswood, Fairfield, and other areas sandy soils are also prominent. Foundations in these areas also have potential for problems because of poor drainage and improper irrigation. This is especially true if the foundation was constructed over a severe perched water table.
A perched water table can occur when silty sands or clayey sands are naturally layered with impermeable clays. Water can pond on the clays due to poor drainage and create a perched water table condition. You will often find this condition during the rainy season. The sand becomes extremely soft and wet. When that happens, they lose their load carrying capacity. The result of that is foundation settlement.
Rocky Soil Conditions
For the most part rock formations exist on the west side of the state. They can be found in Austin, San Antonio, Midland, Odessa, parts of Dallas and other areas. For the most part, rock formations are not expansive. On the other hand, expansive shale or weathered limestone can be found in some areas as well. The Austin area is even more complicated where several types of soil and rocks can be found within the same building site.
How can you maintain your foundation to prevent failure?
You can maintain your foundation to prevent failure by paying close attention to the drainage and irrigation around the perimeter of the foundation. If you are on a wooded lot you must provide maintenance to prevent Foundation Damage Caused By Trees.
If you just moved into a newly constructed home and failed to have it inspected by the Wildcat Inspections Team, first shame on you. The good news is that it isn’t too late. You can have the home inspected prior to the end of your first year. That way we can make sure that the builder properly established the site drainage. We can also find other possible oversites or deficiencies in the construction. After you receive our report you should be able to get the work done while it’s still under warranty.
You can start by checking out the Building Codes For Drainage Around A House.
If your in an older home you can read also about Site Drainage and Foundation Performance. Give us a call if we can help.
