Relentless Texas Heat Can Kill Your Home's Foundation
In summer, we Southlake people want to have our air conditioning working to keep us from feeling like we’re wrapped in foil on the grill. AC tuneups and repairs are essential, but prolonged, oppressive summer heat can result in serious damage to your home’s foundation.
What’s The Problem?
Soil throughout North Texas is elastic. It expands when it’s moist and contracts when it’s dry. As it dries out, it contracts and pulls away your foundation. With a slab thickness of about six inches, it doesn’t take long for soil to get dry and shrink around and under the slab.
Why It Matters: As the soil shifts and pulls away from the slab, the concrete can crack due to the uneven support. This can put added pressure on plumbing lines installed beneath the slab. That may loosen connections or crack a pipe, causing a leak.
Leaks Cause The Soil To Swell: Steady dripping over time will expand the soil under the slab, increasing the pressure on plumbing lines. If a leak goes undetected, it can lead to catastrophic failure of the slab. Ground-level floors may erupt, sending torrents of water into your home.
What’s The Solution?
The solution depends on the nature of the problem and the extent of the damage. First, we locate the leak with sensitive listening equipment. Here are the repair methods used most often in North Texas.
Break through the slab above the leak location. This makes a big mess in the affected room. We haul out broken concrete, dig soil away from the leak area, make the repair and then put everything back together. This also requires replacing a section of the slab and repairing or replacing damaged flooring.
Tunnel beneath the slab (pictured here). Engineering companies that specialize in tunneling beneath slabs dig a 3’ x 3’ tunnel. We make the repair and refill the tunnel. This is messy, too, but most of the mess stays outside.
Pipe Rerouting/Re-piping. This is a great approach when a short section of line is the problem and there is an available way to reroute around it. The replacement line may run outside around the slab, or up through a wall, into the attic and back down.
Prevention – The Best Approach
These are expensive repairs. Most standard homeowner insurance policies do not cover them unless you add coverage for this risk – at additional cost. The best course is to not give slab leaks a chance.
Keep Soil Around Your Foundation Moist. Don’t allow gaps to develop between the foundation and the soil. Water the area within about 12-15 inches of the house frequently to keep it moist, but don’t flood it.
Don’t Use Caustic Drain Cleaners. Older pipes are especially vulnerable to strong cleaners.
Test The pH Of Your Water. Acidic water can have the same effect as harsh chemicals – and it stays in your water lines all the time.
Check Your Home’s Water Pressure. Most home plumbing systems are built to maintain 40-60 PSI. Higher pressure puts additional stress on pipes and joints, which can result in leaks at pipe connections and any weak places in a pipe.
Get Annual Plumbing Inspections. Most people never do this, but an annual plumbing inspection is as important as seasonal tuneups on your HVAC systems. Any leak repaired is likely to save enough on your water bill to pay the cost of the inspection.
Get A Home Plumbing Inspection Bargain
A billyGO NOW! membership includes a whole house plumbing inspection at no extra cost – and a lot more, too:
- Annual heating and A/C tuneup service to all units in your home.
- Annual plumbing inspection.
- No dispatch fees ($50 savings).
- Automatic 15% discount for all billyGO services.
- Automatic $50 discount on any holiday service.
- VIP priority service and repairs from dedicated service technicians.
- Priority 24/7 emergency plumbing, heating and air service.
- 15% savings on new and upgraded plumbing and HVAC equipment.
What Are You Waiting For?
You can schedule your own appointment online now and set the day and time that works best for your schedule.
If you’d like to talk with someone, you can call our office for complete billyGO NOW! Details, eligibility, dates and restrictions. Please call 817.813.9177.
