New North Texas homeowners may find themselves confused by the abundance of advertisements for foundation repair. As commonplace as foundation issues may seem for long-time Texans, these problems are seldom seen across the vast majority of the United States.
So why are foundation problems so abundant in North Texas?
It all comes down to dirt. Certain kinds of soil are considered to be “expansive.†This means that the volume of the soil changes significantly depending on how much moisture is present. Throughout most of North Texas, this can be seen with swelling clays present throughout the soil. During drought conditions (like we saw in North Texas last summer of 2011), the soil volume is low. But just a few days of rain can dramatically increase the soil volumes as the clay absorbs more moisture.
During the summer of 2011 in Texas, the National Weather Service once listed 75 percent of the state in exceptional drought conditions.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), expansive soils cause the most damage in regions where prolonged periods of drought are followed by long periods of rainfall. (Sound familiar?) These include many parts of the Southern, Central and Western United States.
And here is a shocking statistic from FEMA. The combined average annual damage of non-seismic ground failures (landslides, land subsidence and expansive soils) is comparable to the combined average annual damage caused by floods, earthquakes and volcanoes. In fact, recent estimates put the annual damage from expansive soils in the United States as high as $7 billion.
Across the southeastern two-thirds of Texas, the soil has been rated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as having “high swelling potential” and containing less than 50 percent clay. A band that runs right through the North Texas area, however, is even worse off. Through Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties, the soil has high swelling potential and also contains more than 50 percent clay.
Ideally, engineers will tell you to avoid building on areas with high swelling potential. This obviously isn’t practical in Texas, however, where most of the state faces these conditions.
Most North Texas foundations are also of the slab variety. These are fast and inexpensive to construct, which helps keep housing costs down. They don’t, however, always fare well when soils are expanding and contracting with the weather.
Buildings can only withstand a very small amount of movement before damage occurs. It takes only a differential movement of one-quarter inch between adjacent columns to cause a crack in a load-bearing wall. The effects are even more drastic for homes and one-story commercial buildings. Larger multi-story properties are less likely to encounter problems, since their sheer weight can prevent damage from occurring.
Probably the biggest problems occur in North Texas homes that were constructed during a period of drought, which was followed by soaking rainfall. Unfortunately, this is a pattern that occurs all too often in our region.
So now that you may feel a little helpless to the soil conditions surrounding your home, why not schedule an in-home estimate for free with Foundation Repair Solutions? Not only will the expert representatives assess your foundation free, they’ll offer you unmatched finance pricing options to fit your budget. Don’t become a victim of the North Texas soil conditions, schedule it now!