How Do Southern California’s Soils Affect Your Home’s Foundation?

Southern California has a diverse assortment of soils, from clays to sands, rockier mountain soils to silt in the valleys. Many of these soils have their own challenges for buildings, which could help determine if your home is going to experience foundation problems.

Clay Soils

Some areas of Southern California, including San Diego’s eastern suburbs, have soils with a high clay content. These soils can exhibit extreme shrink-swell cycles, heaving when wet and shrinking when dry. If these changes are happening to the soil beneath your home and haven’t been mitigated, it is likely going to impact your foundation, leading to differential settlement or heaving, depending upon the cycle. When that occurs, you will begin to see the signs of foundation failure, from doors and windows sticking to cracks forming in walls.

Sandy Soils

Sandy soils don’t expand like clay soils, so heaving should not be a problem. They are susceptible, however, to both erosion and compression under load. Both of these can lead to foundation settlement by creating conditions in which the soil is less able to support the weight of a building.

Silty Soils

Silty soils, common in areas such as historic riverbeds, have some of the same issues as clay soils. They have a tendency to retain water, making for poor drainage and opening the door to heaving. As they dry out, they also shrink, making the susceptible to foundation settlement.

Loamy Soils

Loam, a mixture of the above three soil types is the best to build upon because the composition reduces the downsides of all three. Loams with higher clay contents still can experience some shrink-swell issues, however.

Collapsible Soils

Collapsible soils are prone to hydroconsolidation, which basically means that they tend to collapse when they get wet enough. In areas with collapsible soils, steps should be taking to ensure that any collapse has taken place prior to building rather than afterward. Otherwise swift differential settlement with significant foundation problems is possible.

Are You Experiencing Foundation Problems in Southern California? Contact Foundations on the Level

At Foundations on the Level, we offer expert foundation repair services in San Diego and Orange counties. If your home is experiencing foundation problems, contact us today.