Below is another excellent question from our "Ask Us Anything" page on our foundation repair website.

Danny,

Thanks for the question. Without a deeper structural investigation, it is really difficult to identify the exact problem. You may want to hire an independent structural engineer to look into it for you. If you call my office,(972) 272-1900, you can request a list of engineers to work from.

What I DO KNOW is that houses in this area are ALWAYS in a state of movement. That is directly tied to their dependence on the soil upon which they are built, clay soil. Clay soil is always in transition related to the infusion of moisture or the loss of moisture; when this soil absorbs water, like the melting snow and ice, it expands and lifts the house up with it

When we leave a wet season and enter our infamous Texas Summers, the soil starts to dry out, shrink, and contract in a downward motion. Of course, the house must follow the soil.

Most houses go through this 'slow motion roller coaster ride' without showing any stress signs greater than a few 'hairline' cracks in brick mortar or wall board, at least for their first couple of decades. BUT, they will 'snap, crackle and pop' as they go through the motions and that just may be what you have going on. The above mentioned 'roller coaster ride' is why you hear people harping on the subject of WATERING YOUR FOUNDATION. It is not the foundation which needs the water, but it is the soil around it that does need the water in order to limit the shrinking and pulling away from the foundation. But the opposite is true when we are getting a lot of rain: you want to make sure all excess runoff goes somewhere other than pooling next to your foundation.

I hope this simple answer helps you some. There a lot of other factors which can contribute to the situation such as the number of, size of, and placement of trees and shrubs; the contour of landscaping; the gutters; whether the home was built on fill dirt etc.

Feel free to contact me with any further questions I may be able to help with.

Sincerely,
Alan Ardoin

Get more information by visiting www.AceFoundation.com.