Bob,
My sister lives in Frisco, TX and she has a foundation watering system to keep the ground near the foundation damp. Her house is only a few years old and the foundation watering system was installed when the house was built, so maybe that's the latest thing to help live with the local soil conditions. Depending on the weather, she runs every few days. She said, if they don't use, they'll have the cracked foundation issue. Dave Heine Easton, PA From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bob Werre Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2012 3:54 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: {S-Scale List} Re: Flawless Operation& foundations Ed, I don't think a frost heave is relevant here, utilities are only a foot or two deep. The bell-bottom piers (they put in every 6' are 12' deep) were the only solution at the time. Our soil itself is such that it expands and contracts with the amount of rain. What happens is that the foundations will dry out on the edges while staying wet in the middle of the house. So the house flex's a bit during a typical yearly cycle. Some areas of the city have greater difficulties--I seem to. Some houses actually have the slab develop major cracks which in turn causes the house itself to fail. This happens to all kinds of buildings. Earlier homes used a pier and beam type construction. When shifting occurred, you would crawl under the house with a couple of jacks (the same kind used in RRing) and raise the house and place shims in place. With a slab type foundation you either drill around the home and sometimes inside the home near the internal beams or more recently tunnel under the home--either way you have a dozen Spanish speaking guys raising your house. So foundation companies, sheetrock guys and painters always have steady work here. Bob Werre PhotoTraxx
