This Monfort Heights homeowner hired Hughes Construction to address foundation concerns likely due to excessive unbalanced soil pressure.  Per the specifications of the design engineer of Buyers Protection Group, Hughes Construction installed 18 steel angles, several steel staples and injected 43 lineal feet of foundation cracks. To address the homes exterior we excavated and installed a new downspout line on the left side of the home. In addition we regraded  the area to allow for the yard to slope away from the foundation.

It is important to ensure that the slope of your yard meets residential building code. Current code requires a slope away from the home by 6 inches within the first 10 feet of the house. If you have a negative grade to your yard (slopes toward your home) you may want to consider a correction.  Negative slope can contribute to problems such as unbalanced soil pressure. As a result negative slope can lead to water permeation of the home and foundation failure.

Questions about foundation concerns? Be sure to check out our post “FOUNDATION CONCERNS? CRACKS? WATER SEEPAGE?”

As a reminder when dealing with foundation concerns of your own, your first step is to hire a structural engineer.