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Foundations

jtrabona
Just Starting Out

Foundations

In the drying out of the current drought,  I've noticed cracks in the plaster due to movement.  I went under the house, and the floor piers are good, but the ground is incredibly dry under the house,and there are cracks about 15-20mm in size

 

I've read that because things are dry, and it's clay, BTW,  that I should put a soaker hose under the house and water it a bit, but another builder said this would be wrong because the clay might cause more issues.

 

Opening this question for discussion,  and advice?

Jason
Community Manager
Community Manager

Re: Foundations

Hi @jtrabona,

 

Welcome to Workshop. It's great you could join us. I trust that you will receive lots of helpful advice and inspiration for your projects from our community members. Please feel free to post whenever you need a hand or have a new project to share. 

 

I'm sure this is a common problem, particularly at the moment with such dry conditions around the country. It will be good to read other opinions from community members. Let me tag a few members for you who might like to kick off the discussion with their thoughts and/or experience: @2Belindas@ProjectPete@PJA@Brad and @LePallet.

 

Thanks for joining in the discussion,

 

Jason

 

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MartyH
Amassing an Audience

Re: Foundations

Interesting topic. 

 

I think a soaker hose would be the wrong approach, as you would be creating an area that is always moist and termites would love it. Do you have timber footings @jtrabona?

greygardener
Becoming a Leader

Re: Foundations

Do you have any trees next to your house @jtrabona. If you were watering your foundations regularly then the trees could send out roots towards your foundations as they seek out the water. Could cause more issues...

RenoQueen
Making a Splash

Re: Foundations

Do you know what it was like under the house before the drought @jtrabona?

 

How old is the house?

 

And how significant are your cracks?

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