These days, more homeowners than ever need tips to prevent Kansas City foundation issues for their houses.
Many Kansas City homes are beautiful to look at, but they are also constructed on unstable clay soil or may have drainage issues with their surrounding property. Foundation issues are unfortunately quite common in Kansas City and beyond; over time, these problems can cost homeowners hundreds or thousands of dollars in repair bills.
Save yourself some time and money by keeping these key tips in mind.
Use Timed Sprinklers
Firstly, you can and should use timed sprinklers if you have a lawn you love and care for regularly. If your soil becomes too dry, it could shrink and contract, which may cause instability for your foundation.
If you use a timed sprinkler, you’ll prevent your soil from drying out. Ideally, set your timed sprinkler so that it waters the ground around your foundation in the morning and evening for about 30 minutes each day.
Preventing Kansas City Foundation Issues: Install Downspouts
Additionally, you can install downspouts around your home or property. Downspouts direct rainwater from the roof to the ground. Make sure that the downspouts direct water about 5 feet away from your house’s foundation so they don’t over saturate the soil and cause it to expand too much. Alternatively, you can bury a downspout diverter to redirect any water from a storm drain to elsewhere on your property.
Ensure Good Soil Drainage
Naturally, you should ensure that your soil has proper drainage. If your soil is oversaturated with water, it will expand very quickly, which could put pressure on the walls of your house’s foundation. This will, over time, make them weak and unstable.
Preventing Kansas City Foundation Issues: Keep Trees Far from the Foundation
Although trees look great and provide helpful shade in the summer months, you should make sure that they don’t grow too close to your house’s foundation. As a good rule of thumb, remove or replace any trees that are close enough to touch any part of your house.
Why does this matter? Simply put, tree and shrub roots may suck away the water from the ground, which could cause the soil around the foundation to dry up and contract. Again, this just places too much pressure on the foundation of your home.
Prevent Big Shrubs from Growing
By the same token, try to prevent any shrubs around your house from growing too big. They should only be 3 feet tall at most. If they grow larger than this, their roots may develop too much and suck up too much moisture, which can dry out the soil around your foundation.
Preventing Kansas City Foundation Issues: Plan Concrete Features Carefully
Want to add concrete features to your houses, such as concrete driveways or sidewalks? In that case, just make sure you install them so they direct water away from your home’s foundation. That will prevent water from pooling or ponding near the home or its roots.
Use Gently Sloped Landscaping
Landscaping can be fun and rewarding, but make sure that any landscaped areas gently slope away from your house. This does wonder to prevent water from collecting or pooling in the soil around the foundation.
Repair Visible Cracks ASAP
Last but not least, contact foundation repair experts like KC Pier if you notice visible cracks in your foundation. Cracks can start small but rapidly expand, causing structural instability and expensive repairs later down the road. As local foundation repair experts, we’re ready and willing to help you solve any foundation problems ASAP.
Foundation problems may be common, but they don’t have to be. Keep these tips in mind to prevent Kansas City foundation issues from affecting your house for years to come.