Expansive Soil and Foundation Cracks

Tim Carter, of http://www.AsktheBuilder.com, demonstrates how to drill holes in clay soil and fill them with a special gravel to prevent foundation cracks.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• expansive
• clay
• soil
• foundation
• cracks
• auger
• gravel
• tim
• carter
• ask
• builder

[MissBondable]

Wow. We are considering buying a house but are a little scared because of foundation cracks apparently caused by expansive clay soil. The previous occupant even removed two big trees which a geological engineer claimed were drying up the soil too much. What a pity! With just an augur and some gravel, two massive trees could have been saved. Seems like there's no shortage of people trying to make money off the miseries of home owners! Great solution.

[AsktheBuilder]

@MissBondable Thanks! Yes, people just don't sometimes think of the obvious. If the soil is DRY, let's get it wet. If you need to deliver water deep into the soil, then let's create some tubes that readily deliver the water to the soil. Too bad I can't patent the idea. :->

[Tboom49]

Your videos has been very useful during our renovation. We had water seepage in our basement after any rainfall. Using your video for inspiration, I purchased a 2' long auger bit, the type used for planting bulbs, and attached it to a hammer/drill and made 2" diameter holes at roughly 2' intervals all around foundation. Next I filled up the holes with pea gravel. Next couple of rains, dry basement. 2' of snow and runoff, dry basement. A contractor wanted $4000 to build a drain.

[AsktheBuilder]

@Tboom49 Thanks a ton. You can help me by spreading the word to all you know about the videos and my AsktheBuilder website. I NEED traffic to keep all these things up here for free.

[DreHectik]

this seems like a very genius....procedure. I imagine that all those tiny rocks redirect the water to different areas of the soil....

[AsktheBuilder]

The rocks are a great conduit. These vertical tubes simply expose more surface area for water to soak into the subsoil.

[rgrams1]

It would seem that the same approach could be used to get water down under the clay layer to get to the roots of trees. Where can I get such an auger? I have looked at Home Depot, Lowes and Ace Hardware but with absolutely no luck. Web searches point only to powered augers and post hole diggers.

[AsktheBuilder]

Thanks for the comment, but it's pretty obvious that you've no experience with expansive clay soils. I suggest that you Google the term and do some reading. In a perfect world you shouldn't have to water a foundation. Trouble is there are too many builders who don't construct them to resist the soil movement.

[xapc2]

Nobody should have to "water" any type of foundation. Chances are you'll cause more problems than anything else. I'm sure that this person is well intended but most geologists have no clue about foundations. If you have problems, consult a geotechnical engineer.

[AsktheBuilder]

Days for sure.