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Dallas Fort Worth Foundation Repair

Concrete Slab and Pier and Beam Repairs

Volatile North Texas Soils

Soil conditions in North Texas are some of the worst in the Nation. There are areas in the Dallas Fort Worth area that have a PVR (potential vertical rise) rating of over 12 inches. What this means is the soil can move upward or downward more than 12 inches in a 12 month period. You might have witnessed this first hand while driving the roads and highways in cities such as Carrollton, Las Colinas and Valley Ranch. North Texas soils have a very high clay content and the soil will expand with moisture and contract when dry. This creates a problem for home builders when designing foundations as these pockets of clay run throughout the metroplex in just about every suburb and city. If the home builder did not take core samples on every home site in a community the foundation designed and engineered for your neighbor might not be strong enough for your home site even if it's just 50-100 feet away. Sometimes even the best designed and engineered foundation can fail due to clay pockets that might only run across the front, back or side of your home site. It's possible when core samples are taken that they miss this vein of clay and it could cause your foundation to fail even under the best of circumstances. There are measures as a homeowner you can take to minimize this.

  • Make sure water is diverted away from your home. Water should flow to the front or the rear of the property
  • Never obstruct your drainage swales with landscaping, fences, pools, or stone or brick wrapped flower beds
  • Install gutters to direct roof water runoff away from your foundation.
  • Correct your drainage if you have standing water that does not drain within 48 hours
  • Install french drains or direct drains to channel water away from your foundation
  • Install soaker hoses around the perimeter of you foundation and water equally on all four sides of the home
  • Do not plant large trees close or shrubs close to your homes foundation
  • When planting shrubs and bushes only dig a hole 1.5 times the size of the root ball. This loose soil enables water to seep under your foundation as you cannot compact the soil adequately
  • If an adjoining property is draining onto your property contact the city as most cities have ordinances against this and corrective action needs to be taken
  • Download our Free Homeowners guide to proper foundation maintenance

Volatile North Texas Soils

What you can do if you suspect you have a foundation failure

1. Contact Dallas Forth Worth Foundation Repair and we will come out and perform a FREE, NO OBLIGATION FOUNDATION INSPECTION to determine if their is a problem. We will also determine the cause of the problem and what corrective measures are necessary to correct it.

2. Employ a structural engineer to perform an inspection. These companies will charge approximately $300-$600 and will design an engineered repair for your home. Then contact us at (972) 961-4100 and we will give you a written repair proposal.

Putting off foundation repairs will not make the problem go away and your repair costs will escalate drastically and eventually will start to affect the structure of your home. You initially will notice cracks in your brick and drywall. Driveways and sidewalks will show cracks which is a sign of soil movement. Small hairline cracks will appear around doors and windows. These are usually the early signs of a foundation problem. If left unattended you will start to develop cracks in floor tiles and doors will become hard to close or open. Over time walls will start to bow outward or inward, roof trusses and rafters will start to bend and break due to the load.  At this point your repair costs will involve several different trades to get the home back to it's original condition. If you contact a foundation repair company before severe damage occurs most repairs can be done by installing piers around the perimeter of the foundation to lift it back to it;s original state. Most repairs can be completed in 1-2 days without damaging the interior of your home. As conditions worsen the scope of the repair might require interior piers which disrupt living conditions and also require more trades to be involved in the repair. Not to mention the added cost.