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Foundation Movement
It can be disturbing for a homeowner to realize that his residence has experienced foundation movement. Many homeowners have heard some of the horror stories about super expensive foundation repairs....
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Slab Cracks
Slab cracks in slab foundations can cause great anxiety to homeowners. However, many slab cracks do not pose a structural problem to the foundation. For example, many times, slab cracks appear soon...
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Foundation Movement – Part III
Foundation Upheaval In previous blogs, we discussed that foundation movement can be categorized into two types: foundation settlement (the most common) and foundation upheaval (the most difficult to...
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Foundation Movement IV
Upheaval – revisited again I recently inspected a slab foundation of a 10 year old house in an unincorporated area in North Texas (no local building codes). The residence had been experiencing...
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Are All Engineers Equal?
Part I There are two disciplines of engineers that usually investigate foundation movement. The most prevalent is a Structural Engineer (who specializes in structural analysis) and the other is a...
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Are Engineers Created Equal? Part II
Last week, the blog discussed an example of poor engineering judgment. Another example of bad engineering advise was at a home built on the side of a steep hill which ran down to a creek. It was...
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Guidelines on Choosing a Foundation Repair Company
There are several hundred foundation repair companies in North Texas. How does a homeowner determine which one to use? Frankly it is difficult unless he or she has guidance from a friend or an...
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Miscellaneous Surface Drainage Comments
Too many times, I see inadequate surface drainage conditions around a foundation that can potentially cause foundation movement. Because of the presence of expansive clay soils, poor drainage...
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Buyers Beware
Recently, I have seen a few sellers of a home either not disclosing existing foundation problems or purposely hiding critical information about it. One example follows: The seller (a house investor aka...
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Buyers Beware – Part 2
I once inspected a slab foundation of a residence for a lady who had owned a home for 15 years and was in the process of selling it. The home was about 2 years old when she purchased it from the...
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Building a Home on a Hill
Over the years, I have inspected numerous foundations of homes that are constructed on severe topography, i.e., where the ground surface slopes significantly, such as on the side of a hill or on a...
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House “Flippers”
Over the years, I have inspected the foundation of homes that had been purchased by investors. The investors remodeled the interior / exteriors and brought them up to a “new car smell” standard and...
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Why Are Texas Homeowners Told That They Need To Add Water To The Soil Around...
Background As is well known by most homeowners in North Central Texas, the foundations for our homes are many times constructed on expansive clay soils. The problem is that clay soils shrink when they...
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Why Are Texas Homeowners Told That They Need To Add Water to the Soil Around...
In my previous blog (Part1), I discussed the “requirement” for Texas homeowners to add water to the soils around their slab foundation. This is being done to attempt to limit foundation movement caused...
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Why Are Texas Homeowners Told That They Need To Add Water To The Soil Around...
In my previous two blogs (Parts 1& 2), I discussed the reasons for the “requirement” for Texas homeowners to add water to the soils around their slab foundation. It is suggested that these two...
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To “MudJack” or Not (after slab foundation repairs) If after a slab foundation is repaired by installing piers AND the slab is lifted upwards as part of the repairs, a void space will be created...
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