Experienced home inspector Wayne Jones provides the following information so that you can properly care for your foundation in the upcoming summer months.

It’s not too early to create a support plan for your house foundation. Remember how dry it was last summer? Foundations and footers cracked and failed because of dry clay soil conditions. Watering your basement foundation (keeping the soil damp) is a good way to help reduce foundation/footer movement during dry conditions. Foundations with shallow footers, such as garages and crawl spaces can settle and crack first. Placing a soaker hose about a foot or so away from the foundation and letting the water trickle for several hours helps keep the soil damp. Remember, if you wait too long, it may take almost a day of watering for the moisture to reach down deep to the basement wall footer. Be aware that normal foundation wall cracks can seep or leak if the water is applied too fast or too close to the walls.