• Order an Inspection

• Company
  • History
  • Service Area
  • Management
  • Contact Us
  • Order an Inspection
• Services
  • Steel Piling
  • Fiber Reinforced Polymers
  • Crack Repair
  • Underpinning
  • Perimeter Drain Repair
  • Waterproofing
• Symptoms
  • Sinking
  • Cracking
  • Soils
  • Soils of BC
  • Hidden Streams
  • Terrain
• Solution
  • Initial Call
  • Engineering
  • The Solution
  • Job A
• Professional Services
  • Engineers
  • Contractors
  • Commercial Solutions
• Links
  • Deep Foundation Institute
  • RamJack
  • Poly-Mor
  • Quake Wrap
  • Calysta
• Home

Symptoms - Soils

Go outside and look around the exterior of your building. Do you find any of these signs?

• Cracks in the exposed foundation of the building
• Cracks in bricks, mortar, stucco or stone
• Large cracks in concrete slabs

These signs are usually caused by the drying up of soil and/or fill around your foundation footings which allows water to flow into the area. As we know water will take the path of least resistance and if the soil is dry there is no resistance for it to flow into the area. If the soil is moist, then that will resist any new moisture from penetrating it.

These signs above could mean that a portion of the house foundation has dropped below the original foundation elevation in the form of settlement. This occurs due to a loss of soil bearing capacity caused by compaction of fill, loss of moisture in the supporting soil, or due to the erosion of the supporting soil. However there could be a plumbing leak under the slab causing upheaval. The most common leak is on the drain side of the plumbing system.

Water is the main enemy in expansive soils problems. There is either too much water, causing the soil to swell, or not enough, causing the soil to shrink. Here is what can cause water to migrate towards the foundation:

• plumbing leaks,
• subsurface water like wet weather or a high water table, or surface water,
• surface water is improper drainage of landscape water or rainwater,
• poor drainage can be a major contributor to soil moisture gains,
• roof runoff not adequately directed away from the house,
• gutter downspouts allowed to discharge the water next to the foundation,
• poor pre-construction compaction of the building pad,
• vegetation too close to the foundation attracting water and/or requiring watering,
• yard drainage,
• poor installation of drain tile around the perimeter of the foundation,
• general poor soil conditions,

Inspect your foundation, and your home to see if any of these conditions are evident. If they are, then there are certain steps to follow in order to get an in-depth explanation of the cause. Once you have determined the cause, then correcting the cause, followed by remedial repairs, can allow you to make an informed decision.