Tag: foundation problems

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.

No one likes to see a crack in their wall, and cracks around doors and window frames are no different. At minimum, they detract from the look of your home. But regardless of cosmetic damage, the more important question is whether the cracks are signs of serious structural problems.

The answer, like so much with cracks around your home, is “It depends.”

Why Do Cracks Form Around Doors and Windows?

Many homes develop some measure of cracking over the years, and window and door frames are among the most common locations.

This is because the window or door frame had to be “cut out” of the wall, meaning the wood framing, block or other material doesn’t extend all the way from floor to ceiling. The window and door frames, therefore, represent weak points where cracks from stress caused by settlement or other issues is likely to occur.

Windows and door frames are also susceptible to problems caused by weather. Expansion and contraction from temperature changes and varying levels of humidity can also cause cracking.

Finally, the same problems that can cause issues in other portions of your wall can also cause them around doors. These include drywall installation problems and water damage.

How Can You Tell If a Crack is a Sign of Serious Structural Problems?

First let’s get one cause out of the way: Is there staining around the crack? If the wall is drywall, does it feel damp or soft. If so, water problems are the likely cause. Structural problems might or might not be contributing to the water getting into the walls, but either way, finding the source of the water and stopping it is crucial.

It is isn’t water, next turn your attention to the direction and size of the cracks. If the crack is just a hairline, it might be caused by settlement, but minor enough settlement not to constitute foundation problems. In these cases, properly patching the crack will likely be enough. Just watch to see if the cracks reopen or widen, because that is a sign of an ongoing problem.

Also, if the crack is in an exterior basement or foundation wall, ensure that the crack is properly filled, not just cosmetically covered up. That is key because these cracks can cause water problems rather than be caused by them. Foundations on the Level offers crack filling services in San Diego and Orange counties in California.

Cracks around doors and windows that indicate serious settlement and foundation problems are usually wider than a hairline and extend diagonally from the frame. Another test is to try the door or window itself. Doors and windows that stick and seem misaligned are a sign of foundation or structural problems.

How Do You Fix Cracks Around Doors Or Window Frames?

This depends on the severity. If the crack is just a surface level issue, implement a surface level, cosmetic fix, albeit one done the right way so the crack doesn’t reopen on its own.

If foundation problems are causing the cracks, however, repairing the cracks is only papering over the real problem. And that repair won’t last in most cases because the cracks will just reopen.

Instead, the foundation problems themselves must be dealt with. There is a good chance that your home needs underpinning. At Foundations on the Level, we employ push piers or helical piers to stabilize and level a building’s foundation permanently. Because while no one wants to need foundation repair, you really don’t want to need foundation repair twice.

Need Foundation Repairs in Southern California? Contact Foundations on the Level

If you think the cracks around your doors and windows might be foundation problems, contact the foundation pros at Foundations on the Level.