What Causes Concrete Slab Foundation Failure?
Concrete slab foundations are the most popular kind of foundations for homes in Texas and beyond. They are also one of the most simple considering it is just a flat surface of concrete. It should make your feel pretty secure, but everything is prone to failure. When a concrete slab foundation fails, it mean that it is no longer any one solid surface. It has cracked and one side has become uneven. What caused it to fail? Well, it could be quite a few things.
Poor Design
The older your home is, the bigger potential there is that it just wasn’t designed well when constructed. It could be someone cutting corners, but to be honest, sometimes they just didn’t know what we know today. If a proper geological survey wasn’t done or the foundation wasn’t laid to combat the soil around it, then it can lead to foundation failure down the line.
Settling
Although home builders can make some pretty educated guesses, no one can really guess how a foundation will settle. If one side settles more than the other, pressure can cause the slab to fail.
Upheaval
Completely the opposite to settling, soil can also rise up and lift the foundation with it. This can be common in Texas because much of the state has expansive soil that retains a lot of water. This, again, can cause a slab foundation to fail due to pressure.
Cracks
Typically minor cracks are the sign of natural settling in your slab. Larger cracks are a sign that there may be a problem leading to eventual failure. Unfortunately, cracks left ignored can contribute to it as well as water gets in there or roots grow inside and expand the crack.
Do you have a slab foundation that presents worrying signs of failure? You should contact us right away. Dodson Foundation Repair can help you determine if you have foundation problems and what you need to do to fix them.