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| Structural Foundation Damage Caused from
One Water Leak |
| By Greg Vanden Berge |
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It's not hard to imagine how much damage a lot of water can do to your
home's foundation in a short period of time, but have you ever stopped
to think about how much damage a little bit of water can do to a solid
concrete building foundation over a long period of time.
Cast iron and porcelain together are used to create bathtubs and sinks.
Both of these materials are durable but if water was to drip onto a
cast-iron bathtub or sink long enough, it will start to wear down the
porcelain finish, exposing the cast iron to rust away, until there is a
hole that you can stick your finger through.
This is the power of a small amount of water over a long period of time
on porcelain and metal. Structural building foundations are no different
and I have seen water soften concrete, create structural cracks and
erode the soil away from underneath them. |
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The two biggest water leaks that I could think of,
that do the most damage to structural building foundations, would be
plumbing pipes and irrigation systems. You will find that exterior water
leaks from leaking hose bibs, broken sprinklers and poor drainage will
create more problems for your building foundation than your home's
interior.
If your home is built on clay or expansive soil and you have water
dripping from a hose bid in a dry climate, the water could soak into the
clay, causing it to expand. Once the soil has expanded enough, it could
force the building foundation to lift up.
Once this happens, the concrete footings can actually crack and
separate. After the water leak is fixed and no longer leaks, the soil
will start to shrink, but the cracks will still be there. It's really
hard to imagine how much damage one small water leak can do to your
home, that's located close enough to your building foundation. |
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