Month: June 2020

My House Is Sinking! This is a fixable problem. It may sound like an end of the world issue, but it is fixable. There could be many reasons why your home is sinking, it could be caused from water leaks, the type of soil your home was built on and how well the foundation was prepared during the initial stages of construction.

Common Causes:

Soil:

Soil is easily saturated by water, even if it is underneath your home. Soil is highly absorbent, and can get water from some of the most out of the place sources like a nearby lake, stream, river, or ocean. It can even be caused from heavy rain and floods, which is a common occurrence in Texas.  While all soil is absorbent, a common soil found throughout Texas is called “expansive clay soil.” The constant change in weather causes the clay like soil to rapidly expand and contract, which causes massive shifting around and underneath your foundation.

Water Leaks:

Another common problem is from water leakage. You could have a nearby pipe which brings water throughout your town, or you could have your own underground source. Even sewage pipes which are not directly connected to your home could cause water leaks. It doesn’t take much for the soil to absorb from these sources

Solutions:

There are several solutions to this sinking problem. You can detect an area in your home which has sunk by placing a ball or other round object and see how it rolls. A perfectly level house shouldn’t even allow the ball to move at all. This can be fixed by readjusting the piers which your house was built on. Sometimes, an underground water source can be removed or drained. If your home has a concrete slab foundation, piers can be installed underneath to help further secure your home.

Call us today and get that sinking feeling in your home fixed!

A shift or “settling” is when a home begins to settle or shift in a particular direction. This can be a little alarming for a homeowner to experience but there are some reasons as to why this happens. Some of the reasons can be from a poor construction job, a natural occurrence, or cracks in the home’s foundation. A home with foundation damage is one of the biggest reasons why a home shifts. This is why you should have your home inspected for foundation damage if you notice a shift happen out of nowhere. Let’s look further into the signs of shifting and foundation damage.

Signs of shifting

Here’s a shortlist of the signs that your home is shifting.

• Damaged or burst water pipes
• Slanted and uneven floors
• Doors and windows don’t open properly

Floors going from being nice and level to being uneven is an obvious sign that shifting is occurring. Other issues like windows being difficult to open or burst pipes can have other causes but they are common with shifting.

What causes foundation damage

Here are some causes of foundation damage.

• Leaking pipes
• Soil becoming moister
• An improper construction job on the property like a basement job
• Transpiration
• An earthquake or flood

These issues can cause the foundation damage that causes your home to shift. A lot of these can be a little hard to tell right away so it’s best to contact a professional if you think you have foundation damage.

Conclusion

A shift or settling is when your home basically starts to move out of position. The obvious signs of this are uneven floors and busted pipes. A major cause of shifting is foundation damage. Foundation damage can occur from things like earthquakes or really poor construction jobs. If you think that your home is shifting from foundation damage then check us out here for more information.