How Water Damages Your Foundation

We can’t stop the rain or snow from coming down and no doubt we need it here in Colorado. As good as it may be for the ground it might not be the best for the foundation of your home. Saturated soil can cause the foundation of your home to crack and bow. The pressure put on the walls of your foundation can cause them to go inward. Not all water problems are the same. There are various types of water problems that can cause foundation issues of different sorts. However, one thing remains the same when it comes to the outcome - it causes foundational issues in your home.

Park Range Construction is your leading structural support specialist in Colorado where we have repaired thousands of buildings with foundational issues. Our technicians are skilled in a vast number of drainage solutions so you can receive the right system for your individual situation. Take a look at the drainage improvements we have to offer. We want to help you stop yours from becoming among the many homes that do have issues from water damage.

Hydrostatic Pressure

This tends to happen because of a poor or failed drainage system on the home. The drainage system on any home is an essential part of your home. As minute as a proper drainage system might seem they are considered invaluable to the health of your home. When fall hits there is always tree debris that falls on the roof and then trickles down into the gutters. This can cause a blockage that prevents proper water flow. When that occurs you now have water overflowing down the house and directly into the soil surrounding the foundation. The soil surrounding your home is more permeable than the rest of the soil on your lot because the soil around your home was backfilled with the soil they took out to make room for your basement. This soil when removed was broken up and loosened making it more water-absorbent. The waterlogged soil between the normal soil and foundation then puts pressure on the basement walls called hydrostatic pressure. This pressure causes the basement wall to bow and crack.

Expanding Soil

There is another type of soil that can cause the walls of your foundation to crack and bow. Wet clay soil can cause big problems if it surrounds your house. When clay dries out it shrinks tremendously causing you to be able to see cracks on the ground. The opposite occurs when clay becomes drenched in water. Expansion of the clay soil can exert a tremendous amount of pressure on your foundation walls when it expands. This also will cause the same result of bowing and cracking to your foundation.

Spring Time Frost

Colorado is known for a good snow and frost in the middle of spring. This can cause some potential problems especially if the soil around your home is more absorbent to water. When the soil around your home is water-soaked and then a freeze comes in, the frozen water expands by 9%. This alone can cause enough pressure to damage your foundation in the same way.

The bottom line of this is to keep your drainage system in good condition. Make sure that there aren’t any blockages in your gutters. Check and clean them bi-annually in the fall and spring. This will go a long way in protecting the foundation of your home. Although in doing this you still can’t change the type of soil you have around your home so if you’re starting to see leaks in the foundation in your basement or cracks start to form then give us a call today! We can fix all your foundation issues as well as drainage issues that many have caused the problem to begin with.

Published on 4-23-2021