Summer Droughts Affect Your Foundation: Addressing Cracks and Sticking Doors

Lack of rain can negatively impact your home's foundation

Summer in the Kansas City area means weekend getaways to the lake, picnics in picturesque Swope Park, outdoor concerts at Power & Light, and strolls through the River Market on Saturday mornings for fresh beignets and farmers’ market produce.  It also means extremely hot, humid, and dry days upon days. This is where the summer droughts can impact your home's foundation. 

How does that happen, why does it happen, and what can you do to prevent it? Kansas City’s PierMagic Foundation Specialists explain the factors that impact your home's soil and offer fairly-priced home foundation repair.

What Happens to Soil During a Drought?

In the greater Kansas City area, clay soil is quite common. Clay soil can be negatively impacted by seasonal drought - periods of time with less precipitation than normal, or no precipitation at all. This is a standard cycle in Kansas City throughout the summer. Multiple hundred degree days paired with no rain for weeks not only ruins your home's landscaping, racks up your AC bill, but it can have severe negative consequences on the soil under your home. This results in foundation issues and cracks throughout your concrete and walls in the basement.

As clay soil dries, it shrinks up, or contracts. Although the clay soil normally would meet your foundation wall, when it’s dry, it pulls away and creates a gap. The gap encourages air flow, which only serves to further dry out the soil around your foundation, resulting in an even wider space. 

RELATED: Clay Soil: It Shrinks and Swells

Similar issues can occur if you have other fine-particle soils on your property, so it isn’t just clay that causes the problem.

What Happens to Your Foundation After the Gap Forms?

As the crack widens in your home’s foundation, eventually, even the soil under your foundation can dry out, and your house loses more support and stability, this time beginning from below the Earth’s surface.

Lack of support on all sides puts stress on your concrete foundation, leading to the formation of cracks, resulting in foundation sinking and settling. 

With cracks in your foundation, the gap between the soil and your basement wall is now wide enough to allow rainwater to flow in. Consequently, in addition to foundation cracks, you now have a wet basement.

How Can Homeowners Prevent Drought-Related Foundation Damage?

If your home is relatively new and has so far been unaffected by summer drought, you can get on a preventative watering schedule to keep the soil around your foundation moist and supportive. 

As Kansas City sees many months of extremely dry weather, it is beneficial to your foundation and concrete to evenly water the soil around the perimeter of your home, aiming about a foot or two away. It’s important to direct water away from the soil gap or avoid directly aiming the water hose toward your foundation. A soaker hose is particularly helpful for this technique, as it slowly waters the soil over a period of hours, instead of a quick concentrated saturation. The goal is to soak the soil around your home to a depth of several feet.

Avoid adding soil into the gap. Although it may seem like a logical and efficient solution, the extra soil, when wet, will apply pressure to your basement wall and cause cracking.

What If My Foundation is Already Cracked?

Foundation cracks can be a normal progression of foundation settling. However, it’s important to know that you should still begin a gentle soil-watering practice to prevent further foundation damage. 

If you need to patch drywall cracks or adjust your doors and windows because of settling, you’ll want to wait until the soil moisture returns to its normal state, as this can reverse some problems you’re experiencing. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself repeatedly re-patching cracks and continually adjusting your doors.

How Do I Fix Water Damage in My Basement?

Some foundation cracks let in so much water that your basement belongings are ruined. Wet drywall and carpet should be removed because they foster mold growth and often cannot be fixed. For example, drywall becomes mushy when it’s saturated, thus losing it’s ability to function properly. 

Before considering revamping, remodeling, or finishing your basement, you should consult with a reputable foundation repair company to ensure your foundation is in good shape. It’s important to always wait until after your foundation repairs and basement waterproofing are complete before beginning a project, so you don’t have to worry about your newly finished space becoming damaged again.

When Should I Schedule Home Foundation Repairs?

Experts agree: Kansas City foundation repair should be completed quickly, regardless of drought. Doing so can prevent future water intrusion, mold growth, and more.

The longer you wait to address the problem, the more likely that it will only exacerbate and become more costly to fix. A minor foundation repair today can prevent a bigger, more urgent issue in the future.

Who is the Resource for Foundation Repair in Kansas City?

Since 2007, PierMagic Foundation Specialists have been serving Kansas City homeowners through concrete foundation repair, basement waterproofing, crack sealing, and more. 

Today, we’re known for our exceptional customer service, fair pricing, and quality workmanship. We were even named one of Kansas City’s 10 best foundation repair companies by Blogger Local Kansas City. 

Our foundation specialists provide free estimates for repairing your home; call us or send us a message on our website to schedule an appointment and learn how we can keep your house standing strong, healthy, and dry.