Why Do Foundations Crack in San Antonio

Anyone who owns a home in the San Antonio Texas knows the saying: If you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute because it will change. The weather extremes from hail and storm winds to downpours, freezing temperatures—can challenge your property. And surprisingly, so can the intense high heat we get in the summertime.
Temperatures hovering in the 90s and close to 100 and above don’t just wear people down—they also heat the dirt, drawing moisture away and causing our clay soil to shrink. And then, when it finally rains or cools, the clay expands, pushing at your foundation. It’s simply hard on foundations.
Lucky for you, there’s ways to identify foudation problems before they become expensive to fix.

Heat and Humidity Cause Stress on Concrete Slabs

Exposure to the Elements
Because Texas’s clay soil is so sensitive to the changing amounts of moisture in the air, it can shift a lot during the summer. Once temperatures rise above 90 degrees, the dirt around your home dries up and pulls away, potentially exposing your concrete foundation to damaging elements.
Settling Way Too Much
All houses settle over time. But when the high heat of summer goes on too long without relief, it puts concrete slabs at risk. As the heat keeps hammering at the soil, the moisture contained in it evaporates. These dehydrating effects continue to penetrate further down beneath your home. This causes the slab to shift more and more, and it can lead to cracks in the concrete.
Uneven Pressure on the Slab From The Ground Below
As soil expands and contracts with changes in temperature and humidity, the ground around and beneath your foundation may shift in uneven ways—meaning some areas may move more than others. This puts pressure on your concrete slab, causing it to crack or break.
Mold and Mildew Underneath the House
Humidity in the outside air can create excess moisture in basements and crawl spaces. This occurs as dampness and puddling rain seeping into porous concrete and lingering. The result is nasty mold and mildew, which can damage stored goods and create unpleasant odors. They can also impact your home’s air quality, putting your family at risk of health issues.
To learn more about how excess dampness creates problems, check out this handy guide to the issues that moisture can cause your foundation.
Concrete Slabs Are Vulnerable to Heat and Humidity
Concrete slab foundations are very common in Texas neighborhoods. And out of all foundation types, they are most likely to experience problems due to our region’s hot, humid weather and temperature swings. The repeated expansion and contraction of our soil leads to cracks in the concrete that put homes at risk.

Cracked concrete is a problem in two ways.
1) The breaks provide a place for moisture to go, leading to potential leaks, mold and mildew, and even rot or rust—depending on what’s nearby.
2) Weak concrete will break up further as time goes by, which means the problem continues to get worse.
Cracked concrete slabs need to be repaired to safeguard your home in the long run.
Cracked Concrete Causes A LOT of Additional Home Damage on the inside and outside.
As your concrete slab weakens and begins to fail, you’ll notice the signs of foundation problems and potentially dangerous – especially when you consider moisture and mold building up inside your home.
Uneven floors are unsightly and embarrassing if you’re hosting guests.
Cracks in walls look unattractive and can impact architectural elements of your home.
Uneven doors make your home less energy-efficient and doors harder to use.
Gaps between windows and frames mean windows may be impossible to lock—putting you at risk of thieves.
Stuck windows prevent you from enjoying healthy fresh air and also make it hard to exit your home in case of emergencies like fire.
Water puddles around your foundation can expose plant roots to too much water, causing them to die. And they can provide breeding grounds for mosquitoes, rodents, and other pests. You don’t want that.

There are many factors that can cause foundation problems. Alamo City Foundation Repair can identify an eliminate any foundation problems at very affordable prices. Call us today.