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Drought conditions are damaging some homes (soil shrinking causing voids under foundations...
Drought conditions are damaging some Minnesota homes, CBS, 8/17/22
Katie Molitor has noticed small cracks in her home in Savage getting longer and deeper. There are also cracks in her back patio and on the exterior of her foundation walls.
Andy Berreth with Innovative Basement Authority says these are symptoms of a house on unstable soil. Drought conditions are one of the causes.
"What happens is the soil will actually shrink," Berreth said. "As it dries out, it shrinks and when it shrinks, voids actually will occur under the foundation itself."
He says the house then twists and torques, and cracks can form in drywall. Windows and doors can get stuck closed, too.
Berreth says virtually any house can be susceptible to this, but homes built into hills or on slopes are particularly at risk.
MORE: https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/drought-conditions-are-damaging-some-minnesota-homes/
Katie Molitor has noticed small cracks in her home in Savage getting longer and deeper. There are also cracks in her back patio and on the exterior of her foundation walls.
Andy Berreth with Innovative Basement Authority says these are symptoms of a house on unstable soil. Drought conditions are one of the causes.
"What happens is the soil will actually shrink," Berreth said. "As it dries out, it shrinks and when it shrinks, voids actually will occur under the foundation itself."
He says the house then twists and torques, and cracks can form in drywall. Windows and doors can get stuck closed, too.
Berreth says virtually any house can be susceptible to this, but homes built into hills or on slopes are particularly at risk.
MORE: https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/drought-conditions-are-damaging-some-minnesota-homes/
More on where to look for cracking
Obviously not something unique to Minnesota homes.
As if we don't have enough already to worry about