Drought’s Impact on Your Foundation

HOW DOES THE DROUGHT AFFECT YOUR FOUNDATION?
A lack of water for an extended period of time causes the soil in your foundation to shrink. As the earth decreases, air holes form between your home’s foundation and the ground underneath it. As it settles against the new holes, the foundation begins to crumble.

The type of soil in your yard, in particular, will decide the level of harm that the drought condition will bring to your soil. For example, foundations built on clay-rich soil are more likely to be damaged by drought than those built on sandy soil.

INDICATES THAT YOUR FOUNDATION IS BEING AFFECTED BY THE DROUGHT
Here are several signs that your home’s foundation has been harmed by drought:

-Your floors are slanted.
-It is difficult to close and open your windows and doors.
-Walls that are bowed
-Cracked floors- Wall-to-wall cracks should suggest that your foundation is being harmed by the drought.
-Your ceilings and floors have separated from the walls.
-Ripped wallpaper
-Your chimneys and porches have begun to sag away from the home.
-Diagonal fractures from the windows to the ceiling.
-The top and walls’ moldings have split.

Droughts induce soil shrinkage.

When there is no rain for an extended length of time, the water within clay begins to evaporate, causing it to shrink. It causes holes or gaps between the earth and your foundation when it moves. Your foundation may fracture over time as gravity forces the weight of your home into the newly formed spaces.

This procedure is extremely similar to “settlement” or “settling,” and it has the same detrimental impact on your foundation. While some settling is typical, a drought can cause it to occur at a considerably faster rate and to a much greater extent.

It seems to reason that if your foundation is uneven, elements of your floor will be as well. However, this isn’t always obvious. You can use a bubble level (also known as a spirit level) to check the area of the floor where you believe there is a slope. However, such a slant may be gradual and occur over a long distance, making it impossible to detect with the standard level.

A marble test can be useful in this situation. It’s a basic concept, but it may be really beneficial for detecting small inclines in your home that you shouldn’t have. Place a marble, or any other tiny round object, on the floor and watch it roll and settle. You’re probably alright if it doesn’t appear to be moving in any particular direction. If it starts to roll, you may have a problem with your foundation.

Aside from searching for damage to your home, you may inspect the soil itself. A basic check may be performed by going around the perimeter of your home and searching for gaps between the soil and the bottom of the concrete foundation. Of course, if you have a lot of landscaping work to accomplish, this may be easier said than done. However, if you can get a good look and discover symptoms of shrinking, there are a few things you may do to attempt to prevent it from worsening.

RLM offers the only technique of restoration that has been proven to be effective for the particular soil found across California, and they back their work with a fully transferable lifetime warranty. Call us right now for more information on Foundation Inspection Near Me Playa Del Rey and repair.

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