It’s like a large-scaled Titanic situation. All over the world the foundations of homes or businesses are sinking deep into the ground. We’re not trying to sound dramatic, it’s the honest truth. Luckily, when you work with Restumping Melbourne, our processes and services ensure that you know about said sinkage early and often. When you have early visibility into situations like this for your home or business, you’re much more capable of stopping the issue at its source. In general, it’s a great mystery—why the heck are our foundations sinking? Here are some frequent causes:

Earthquakes- As if they didn’t have enough negative implications, you can add sinking foundations to the list. Earthquakes cause the ground to shake. This means that the saturated soil begins to liquefy. Thus begins a process of deterioration as the soil loses its strength and allows the footings of the building to sink. Of course, once earthquakes are done, the soil will no longer be liquid, but the damage is already done.

The systems used for footings- This is frequently found in either older homes, or homes that have had extensions added on at a later point in the building process. They will perform differently than the rest of the foundation. This is why it’s really important to work with a company like Restumping Melbourne that will perform proper analysis on the ground and ensure consistency within the foundation. Most footings settle within the first five years following initial construction.

Too much Water- Often the most volatile of the weather conditions, while water has its good side, it can also be detrimental to the footings of your foundation. When floods occur, the soil conditions change. If the soil is particularly sandy, then finer grains remove themselves, and the larger and more dense grains settle towards the bottom. This is another way to break down the strength of the soil.

Construction or home renovations- Make sure that you think through all home renovations, because they impact your foundation more frequently than you might imagine. If excavation is taking place, and done poorly, soil can slip and cause any adjacent footings to sink into the ground. Additionally, loud machinery or heavy traffic can both have negative effects.

Droughts- Man, you really can’t win here. You don’t want too much water, but you certainly need a little bit. Droughts will remove all moisture from the ground. This means that any clay in the soil, which is reactive, will shrink immediately. If you have nearby trees or large plants on your property, these can both capitalize on any remaining moisture in the ground, encouraging even more settlement of the foundation.

Not to despair! Things are not as scary as they sound. Many of these are events that occur naturally, and there’s not too much you can do to stop them. You can however, ensure that the foundation of your home is properly enforced, so that your nights are much more worry-free, and you can focus your energy on more important things, like building memories with your loved ones.