How Shifting Soils can Affect Your Home's Foundation

The 6 Primary Reasons for Foundation Settling:

1. Weak, Soft Soil - As a result, the footings press or sink into the soft soils, similar in theory to how a person standing in the mud sinks into soft, wet clay. In such cases, footings may be designed to spread the load over the weak soils, thereby reducing potential

2. Poor Compaction - When fill soils are not adequately compacted, they can compress under a foundation load resulting in settlement of the structure.

3. Expanding Soil aka moisture - Excess moisture can saturate foundation soils, which often leads to softening or weakening of clays and silts. The reduced ability of the soil to support the load results in foundation settlement. Increased moisture within foundation soils is often a consequence of poor surface drainage around the structure, leaks in water lines or plumbing, or a raised groundwater table.

4. Shrinking Soil aka drought - Soils with high clay contents also have a tendency to shrink with loss of moisture. As clay soils dry out, they shrink or contract, resulting in a general decrease in soil volume. Therefore, settlement damage is often observed in a structure supported on dried-out soil. Drying of foundation soils is commonly caused by extensive drought-like conditions

5. Trees & Vegetation - Maturing trees and vegetation in close proximity to a home or building are a common cause of settlement. As trees and other vegetation mature, their demand for water also grows.

I often get asked if we have a ton of "foundational issues" in the Texas Panhandle. Honestly, if a house has soil underneath, it will most likely have foundation issues at some point. It's almost inevitable. We are a part of a huge network of foundation repair specialist that see these issues all the time. So rest easy Amarillo, you are not alone. 

Putting off repairs to your foundation can become painfully worse as weather, temperature and soil conditions change leading to more expensive repairs in the future. In addition, the damage to your house above ground level will continue to increase as your foundation sinks.

The GOOD NEWS is... we can fix it!

At Legacy Supportworks, we specialize in providing homeowners and commercial customers with lasting, warrantied solutions for stabilizing settling foundations and structures.

In addition, we also specialize in concrete lifting services for your patio, driveway, or sidewalk!

To schedule a professional inspection and consultation for your home at no cost, contact us at 1-806-318-3844 today!