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InspectAPedia ® Home STRUCTURAL INSPECTIONS & DEFECTS ADVANCED INSPECTION METHODS AGE of a BUILDING - how to determine ARCHITECTURE & BUILDING COMPONENT ID BASEMENT WATERPROOFING BEST CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES GUIDE BRICK FOUNDATIONS & WALLS BRICK STRUCTURAL WALL Loose Bulged BRICK WALL THERMAL EXPANSION CRACKS BRICK VENEER WALL Loose, Bulged BRICK WALL DRAINAGE WEEP HOLES BUCKLED FOUNDATIONS due to INSULATION? BUILDING DAMAGE ASSESSMENT & REPAIR BUILDING SAFETY HAZARDS GUIDE BUILDING SETTLEMENT CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS REPAIR COLD POUR JOINTS, CONCRETE COLUMNS & POSTS, DEFECTS CONCRETE FOUNDATIONS CONCRETE FOUNDATIONS, PRE-CAST CONNECTORS, FASTENERS, TIES Cracks, Checking or Splitting Beams & Log Homes DECK & PORCH CONSTRUCTION DECK COLLAPSE Case Study DEFINITIONS of Mobile Home, Doublewide, Modular, Panelized DEFINITIONS of ENGINEERED WOOD OSB LVL etc DEW POINT TABLE - CONDENSATION POINT GUIDE DISASTER BUILDING INSPECTION & REPAIR EARTHQUAKE DAMAGED FOUNDATIONS FLOOD DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, SAFETY & CLEANUP FLOOR, ENGINEERED WOOD & LAMINATES FLOOR FRAMING & SUBFLOOR for TILE FOOTING & FOUNDATION DRAINS FOOTINGS EXPOSED, Repair Methods FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION TYPES FOUNDATION CONTRACTORS, ENGINEERS FOUNDATION CRACK EVALUATION FOUNDATION FAILURES by MOVEMENT TYPE FOUNDATION INSPECTION METHODS FOUNDATION INSULATION OPTIONS FOUNDATION MATERIALS, Age, Types FOUNDATION REPAIR METHODS FOUNDATION SETTLEMENT FOUNDATION WATERPROOFING FRAMING DAMAGE, INSPECTION, REPAIRS FRAMING CONNECTORS & JOIST HANGERS FRAMING MATERIALS, Age, Types FRAMING SIZE & Spacing, Age, Types FRAMING TABLES, SPANS for DECKS FRENCH DRAINS FROST HEAVES, FOUNDATION, SLAB FRT PLYWOOD GRADING, DRAINAGE & SITE WORK GUTTERS & DOWNSPOUTS HOUSE PARTS, DEFINITIONS I-JOISTS, Wood Roof Floor ICE DAM PREVENTION INSECT INFESTATION / DAMAGE LOG HOME GUIDE LVL Laminated Veneer Lumber, Beams MOBILE HOMES, DOUBLEWIDES, TRAILERS MODULAR HOME CONSTRUCTION MOISTURE CONTROL in BUILDINGS NOISE / SOUND DIAGNOSIS & CURE OSB - Oriented Strand Board PANELIZED CONSTRUCTION PLYWOOD Roof, Wall, Floor Decks & Sheathing PORCH CONSTRUCTION & SCREENING PRE-CUT & KIT HOMES Preservative-Treated Framing Lumber RETAINING WALL DESIGNS, TYPES, DAMAGE RETAINING WALL GUARD RAILINGS ROT, FUNGUS, INSECT DAMAGE SEARS KIT HOUSES SINKHOLES, WARNING SIGNS SINKING BUILDINGS SLAB CRACK EVALUATION SLAB CRACK REPAIR STAIRS, RAILINGS, LANDINGS, RAMPS STONE FOUNDATIONS STONE VENEER WALLS STRAW BALE CONSTRUCTION STRESS SKIN INSULATED PANELS STRUCTURAL DAMAGE PROBING STRUCTURAL WOOD ASSESSMENT SUMP PUMPS GUIDE TERMITES TEST KITS for DUST, MOLD, PARTICLE TESTS Thermal Expansion Cracking of Brick THERMAL MASS in BUILDINGS TIMBER FRAMING, ROT TIMBER ASSESSMENT TRUSS UPLIFT, ROOF TRUSSES, Floor & Roof WALL CONSTRUCTION BARRIER vs CAVITY WATER BARRIERS, EXTERIOR BUILDING WATER ENTRY in BUILDINGS WINTERIZE A BUILDING WOOD FOUNDATIONS WOOD STRUCTURE ASSESSMENT More Information |
Role of frost, freezing, & clay or wet soils in foundation heaves, cracks, damage: this article explains the main causes of foundation cracks, buckling, or collapse in areas of freezing weather, clay soils, or wet soils. We provide suggestions for avoiding foundation damage or collapse in areas of freezing climate, and we discuss the proper foundation insulation locations and materials for use in problem areas. In this article series we include solar energy, solar heating, solar hot water, and related building energy efficiency improvement articles reprinted/adapted/excerpted with permission from Solar Age Magazine - editor Steven Bliss. Photo (above) shows a new foundation constructed below a New York home after a catastrophic foundation collapse caused by wet soils. Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2013 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman. What is the Main Cause of Foundation Failures in Clay Soils?Most foundation failures in clay soil have nothing to do with freezing. The culprit is more often the expansion of the soil when it absorbs water. In Fargo, said housing engineer Lambert Vogel, when the soil dries out and shrinks, it can pull away from the foundation as much as two inches to a depth of three feet or more. Either the wind or the homeowner is likely to fill this crack with loose soil. When the clay soil gets wet again and expands, crack goes the wall - if it is weak. In some areas of expansive clay soils such as portions of Colorado, builders install a soil watering system below the building's foundation and slab in order to prevent this clay soil shrinkage during dry weather. Readers who need to diagnose the cause and decide on the cure for foundation damage should start at FOUNDATION CRACKS & DAMAGE GUIDE. Readers should also see BASEMENT HEAT LOSS for a discussion of basement and foundation insulation. Contact us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution. Recommendations to Avoid Foundation Wall Cave-Ins in Cold ClimatesVary rarely do foundation walls cave in from insulation, except possibly in Duluth, Minnesota, where all the conditions are ripe for foundation failure: lots of rainfall, clay soils, very cold winters, and building practices that often do not include foundation drainage to assure that soils close to the building foundation are not water-saturated. But you can prevent all frost-related foundation damage problems by following standard good building practices:
Given basically sound foundation and site work, it is acceptable to insulate a building foundation inside (giving up the thermal mass benefits to the building) or outside, and to install foundation wall insulation half-way, full-height, or flared-out - anywhere in the continental United States. In foundation insulation retrofits in very cold climates, life is not so simple. What if you have an un reinforced concrete block foundation, a frost-susceptible soil (clay or silt), and poor site drainage? Then we would be reluctant to install any foundation insulation without first correcting the site - at the very least by conducting surface water and roof spillage well away from the building foundation. Where the integrity of the foundation wall is in doubt, there are compromise solutions. We might install half-height insulation on the inside of the foundation wall, or half-height insulation n the outside of the foundation wall with the addition of at 2- to 4-foot flare. But don't expect good thermal performance with half-height interior foundation insulation on an open-core concrete block foundation wall. Convection in the concrete block cores will carry heat right past the insulation. Also consider the wintertime temperatures in the basement or crawl space. If the building owners have insulated the basement or crawl space ceiling, and are heating with a woodstove upstairs rather than a furnace or boiler in the basement, the basement walls, not to mention the water pipes (see WINTERIZE A BUILDING), could get very cold. Here we include solar energy, solar heating, solar hot water, and related building energy efficiency improvement articles reprinted/adapted/excerpted with permission from Solar Age Magazine - editor Steven Bliss. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about causes of foundation buckling or collapse... Ask a Question or Search InspectApediaUse the search box below to ask a question or to search the InspectApedia.com website. Ask a Question or Enter Search Terms in the InspectApedia search box just below. Technical Reviewers & ReferencesRelated Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
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