Causes of Failure
RISK FACTORS THAT CAN DAMAGE YOUR HOME
Tree Roots
Tree roots dehydrate the soil beneath a home causing soil shrinkage and differential settlement of your home.
Evaporation
During the hot summer months, the extreme heat can take moisture from the soil. This leads to shrinkage and causes structural cracks.
Plumbing Leaks
Plumbing Leaks are another major problem that can affect your foundation, particularly if there's a problem with the main line. A sizable leak will seep into the soil that surrounds your house and can even cause your foundation to shift.
Unfortunately, it's not always easy to detect a leak in the main line of your sanitary sewer. Too often, homeowners don't know it's happening until they notice the resulting structure issues.
Poor Drainage
Poor drainage can be the most common form of foundation failure, it can be due to improper drainage. A home that needs gutters or has downspouts pointing in the wrong direction will create oversaturation of the soil, and the foundation will become unstable as a result.
The landscaping around your home should also slope away from the foundation in order to reduce the risk of water pooling around the concrete. Aside from the normal and almost certain settling and cracking in a home, basement leaks are also a major concern when drainage is not happening properly.
Seasonal Conditions
n areas of the state, like Oklahoma where the weather changes dramatically across the seasons, you can have real concerns about the foundation of your home. From going to wet to dry season it can cause swelling and shrinkage in the soil beneath the foundation.
Poor Soil Conditions
There can also be an issue when you build on areas with expansive clay soils that expand and dry out as water comes and goes. These clay soils are well known in Oklahoma. The clay will swell when its wet, and then it shrinks when it dries up. This constant shifting in the ground below a concrete foundation may cause extreme settling and shifting of the foundation, which can cause your foundation to settle.
Overwatering
Unless you’re in a drought, overwatering is pretty common, particularly in areas where the weather is unpredictable. It’s very easy to water your lawn, then let the rain drench it a few hours later.
Too much water can cause the soil to expand, which puts pressure on the foundation and damages the concrete.
