What Causes Foundation Settlement?

Settlement is the most common cause of foundation problems. Foundation settlement is usually not a house design problem, but a symptom of the movement and conditions of the soil around your home.

Weak Bearing Soils

• Foundation footings can sink into soft soils

Poor Compaction

• Fill soils are used throughout new home developments and around each house. If fill soils are not properly compacted, they can shift and cause foundation settlement.

Changes in Moisture Content

• In new homes or old, increased moisture in foundation soils, from poor drainage, leaking water pipes or raised groundwater levels can create weakness in the soils and uneven support for your foundation.

Maturing Trees & Vegetation

• Many homeowners are a surprised when, following decades of a stable foundation, suddenly there is settlement. As trees and vegetation mature, they need more water and their root systems often grow to take water from the soils around and underneath your foundation.

Soil Consolidation

• Consolidation occurs when the weight of a structure and/or fill soil around it pushes moisture from weaker soils below. This causes soil particles to be more densely packed and results in settlement of the structure above.

The sooner you identify and repair foundation settlement problems, the easier they will be to fix and the more money you will save.