Why do Foundations Fail?
A foundation's main job is to hold up the house. Often, however, the biggest load on the foundation is not the 
weight of the house, but the pressure of the soil around the foundation. Called the lateral load, it is the amount of pressure exerted on basement walls and can vary widely. It depends on many factors, including what type of soil surrounds the foundation, how wet that soil is and how deep the foundation extends beneath the surface.
Coarse-grained, well-drained soils like sand and gravel apply the least lateral load, while fine silts and clays, especially if saturated, apply more load. The deeper the basement, the greater the pressure. The designer and builder must understand the importance of these factors in order to design and build a foundation that can stand up to lateral loads. Since soil engineering is not an exact science and loads are hard to predict accurately, all foundations should have a large, built-in margin of safety.
The Effect of Water
Soils are mixtures of mineral particles, water, and air. They're not quite solid and not quite liquid, but they can flow. The more water a soil contains, the more it behaves like a fluid. As water lubricates the small soil particles, they slip more easily past each other. Clays are particularly affected by moisture: A clay embankment that stands up by itself when dry may turn to mud and slump like pudding when wet. That's why effective drainage systems are a critical element when building in clay soils.
Groundwater exerts its own pressure on walls as it seeps through the earth. The water pressure against a basement when the soil is thoroughly soaked is called hydrostatic pressure. It can force moisture through pores in the basement wall and even crack or buckle the wall itself. Here again, proper drainage is the remedy.
Digging Deeper Increases Pressure
Hydrostatic pressure and soil pressure increase with depth. Just as a submarine experiences more stress on the hull as it dives deeper, a basement wall faces more lateral pressure deep underground than it does near the surface. Other things being equal, deep foundation walls need more strength than shallow ones.
Basement Services 911 provides the following services:
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Basement & Crawl Space Waterproofing
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Foundation Waterproofing & Repair
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Exterior and Interior French Drains
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Mold & Mildew Inspection and Remediation
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Structural Damage/Wall Repair
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Wall & Floor Crack Repair
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Humidity Control Systems
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Air Quality Services
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Sump Pumps and Battery Back Up Sump Pumps
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Complete Basement Renovation and Remodel
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New Basement Entrances
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Egress Windows and Doors
When should you call Basement Services 911 for your FREE inspection?
When you are suffering from the following issues:
- Standing Water on Floor
- Wall or Floor Seepage
- Mold and/or Mildew
- Musty Odors
- Wet Basement Floors or Damp Spots on Walls
- White Chalky Substance on Walls
- Deterioration of Carpet or Wood
- Peeling Paint
- Cracked Basement Walls or Floors
- Rust on Appliances or Furniture
- Dry Rot Along Basement Walls
- Underground Window Well Leakage
- Stair/Entryway Leakage
- Bowing or Bulging Walls
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