In the summer, the ground sometimes gets huge cracks and the foundation will as well if the ground is not watered occasionally. I’ve noticed houses that are vacant for too long a period of time usually have this problem.
Our situation was a little more complex. We bought our house (central TX) in early 1999, and that summer was quite dry. No sprinkler system at the time. We found out later that the soil on the property has varying amounts of clay. Clay responds vigorously to moisture changes. As for the slab, first there was some settling on one side, which caused an in-slab plumbing leak, which led to more settling. $20K+ later, we've got more than 40 piers (each one 12 ft deep) supporting our house.
Thank you.
“In the summer, the ground sometimes gets huge cracks and the foundation will as well if the ground is not watered occasionally. I’ve noticed houses that are vacant for too long a period of time usually have this problem.”
The ground also cracks open here, but I didn’t realize it could damage construction if it lasted long enough. But then, we don’t have basements other than underground parking (rare) sometimes. I don’t know if this makes a difference; and as you can tell, I also don’t know what I am talking about. I am out of my league. I wish I could picture this whole thing in my mine, but I can’t.