Every year thousands upon thousands of dollars are spent in the Houston Metropolitan Area because of landscapers. Yes, landscapers. The grading and drainage of homes may not seem very important. However, what native Houstonians call the “gumbo clay” may be devastating to your foundation and your finances. Every molecule of our clay mixture soil may expand as much as 300 times its size, putting pressure on the concrete below your home. The cost to repair foundations ranges from a few thousand dollars to over $100,000, depending on the size of the home and the extent of damage.
The good news is this can be prevented.
Until the 1990’s most homes in Southeast Texas were built without much thought to drainage. Over the years builders started to understand its importance as homeowners saw the results of poor drainage. Proper drainage is now part of the International Residential Code. All grading should drop away from the foundation at a 2 percent grade – about six inches for every 10 feet. Mild ditches, called swales are created between houses to drain the water to the street in front or a bayou/retaining pond out back. These swales prevent water from staying near your house. What happens to the water already at your house?
Gutters move water off the roof, through a downspout, to a splash block or subsurface drain, and into the swale. Builders often skip gutters or provide partial gutters to offer a cost deduction on new homes. Some builders provide the gutters and downspouts, but not the splash blocks or subsurface drains. This is a big mistake! Gutters are not a part of the IRC or ICC building code. However, water running off the roof to the ground digs a soil erosion line. This is a small straight line in the ground just below the roof edge, often even in new homes!
Eventually, soil erosion lines and holes dig deeply enough to pond water. This may take 10 or 15 years to accomplish – but it will cause issues. When the homeowner decides to sell the home where they raised their children, they will get a nasty surprise. Structural problems are pointed out. The buyer consults with a professional structural or civil engineer and it turns out over $50,000 is required to fix the foundation to sell their home.
The dream of selling their home for great profit and making life easy in their golden years was swept away because the builder did not include a full set of gutters, splash-blocks, and swales to move the water away.
This is a serious problem in the building industry! If you are considering a new home in an older neighborhood make certain there is proper drainage.
Our inspections don’t just point out the deficiencies in a home on the day of inspection. They help our clients look down the road into their future. Inspections of Texas protects our clients for the long term both in safety and financial benefit.