I was listening to the radio this morning and one of the foundation repair ads caught my attention.  The ad started off to say that, “..the recent rains and cooler weather is masking your foundation problems, but they just won’t go away by themselves.”.  This made me laugh because, actually, sometimes with rain and cool weather they simply do, at least for a while.  For me this ad emphasizes the point that when you think you have a foundation problem you should have it evaluated by an engineer who can lay out a reasonable course of corrective action.  It may very well be possible to improve or repair the foundation performance without the need for very costly repair piers or piles.

Seasonal differential settlement of foundations in the Houston area is a common problem.  The key term here is, “seasonal”.  If you are experiencing differential settlement that seems more severe in the summer months than in the winter months, or if most of what you now see seems to have occurred in the last 12-18 months, then there is a good chance you are experiencing seasonal differential settlement which has been made worse by our current drought conditions.  This most often occurs due to drying of the soils supporting your foundation, causing the clays in the soil to shrink in a non uniform manner around the foundation.  This bends the foundation and damages the structure it supports.  This can be made significantly worse by a lack of consistent watering around your foundation, by the existence of heavy vegetation at the foundation, and large tree near the building.

If you are having problems with cracks in your sheetrock, separations in your siding, or doors that don’t fit, don’t call a foundation repair contractor, call us.  Professional Engineering Inspections can provide recommendations to either repair your foundation through improved maintenance and the use of root barriers or watering systems, or where necessary, implementation of pier or pile support.