CAN A POND CAUSE HOUSE FOUNDATION PROBLEMS?

[Mmathis]

We don't think it has anything to do with the pond, but looking for reassurance!

Few days ago Hubby & I noticed some sudden & obvious cracks in the walls (house, not pond) inside & outside, that fit the description of a shift. Almost 100% sure it's due to the soil [clay] and the weather cycle. Last summer was VERY hot & dry -- 3+ month drought -- the worst I can recall. This summer has been unusually wet.

But, you know the first thing that came to my mind was the pond dig.... Guess we'll be calling for some evals. & quotes.

At least we're not in the Baton Rouge area -- they're having "sink hole" issues!

 

[sissy]

I know we have clay here and last summer was so dry the soil cracked on one side of the house and I did see a slight crack in the foundation but not on the inside walls ,but I do have a full basement and thats where the crack was but i also have 2x12 floor joist and 2 steel frames under the house .Is your house on a slab or is there a crawl space and if you see cracks inside they should also be visible in your foundation some where .Thats mainly what you want to look for .Inside crack should show in foundation and if not then it can be joist warping also or a joist under the house could have cracked or there could be something wrong with your footings .It usually starts from the bottom up .Cracks in walls mean settlement or shifting somewhere .Sometimes nothing to worry about if it is very minor but if it grows wide and runs from top to bottom of wall or runs across ceiling it could be more than a small issue .But joists in floor are the tell all .

 

[Waterbug]

Pond can absolutely cause foundation problems. I see potential problems a lot in forums when ponds are dug next to the house. Saw one in a freezing climate where they dug the filter pit against the house. Dug right along the foundation all the way down to the footer. The 4' of soil removed was there to stop freezing from getting under the footer. So they can expect foundation problems in the future.

There's code about digging next to a foundation...but few people care about things like that.

 

[Mmathis]

SISSY, concrete slab. No basements here, in LA. Saw first sign with a gap between 2 pieces of ceiling moldiing. Then few days later noticed the ceiling [it's a recessed or "portrait" ceiling] was cracked. Next day, it was the wall. That's when we went outside and there is a stair-step pull-away of the brick mortar, and a possible hairline crack in the slab. Last night found another crack above a door frame on a wall that's more interior.

This is all showing up on the front end of the house, about 1/4 or 1/3 back from the front. Pond is in the back, and isn't close to the house at all, though could see where drainage issues could be altered over time. But really think it's the weather. The street in front of our house is falling in, also. That's the sewer drain area, and the city "repaired" that about 4 or 5 years ago, but it's cracking & collapsing again.

 

[sissy]

It could be the clay is so wet that it is sinking into gaps in there earth .I saw that at a sink hole that we had here near a local church it took out most of the parking lot when they had the bad snow and rain of 2010 .The clay looked like red slime oozying out all over .I figure with the high water table you have it would be a slab but you never know .You should contact your homeowners insurance also .It should be covered under your flood insurance .When clay gets too much water in it it washes away or sinks into gaps in the earth .My cousin lives in California and the rains there took his house into a giant sink hole ..His wife got up to leave the dog out and most of the back yard was gone .

 

[sissy]

They can do what they call slab jacking which is under fill the slab with hydraulic cement to raise it back up if the slab is sinking .I saw them do it on a concrete driveway .They may have come up with something new since then

 

[brandonsdad02]

About 5 years ago our house had that problem. The whole house was sliding off the foundation. All of this happened before we were living in it and learned of this from our neighbors. Anyways they had a company come in and stablize the house, they put steel beams under the house and jacked it up all winter and let it sit. The next spring they tore out the basement and redid the whole thing. They put drain tile in the basement and around the outside of the foundation and added a walkout basement. A few years later after this happened they lost the house to foreclosure and it sat empty for 2 years before it was bought again and flipped.

 

[callingcolleen1]

How close is your pond to the house??? Does it appear to leak?? Heavy rain... how are your eves troughs? I have extentions on extentions when necessary to the eve troughs to carry the water from the roof well away from the house. But my house is sooo old, and the basement cement is twice as thick as it should be, but I still worry when we get those "monsoons" I rushed out the other day cause we had another downpour and got soaked putting the extentions on cause the sudden gush of water was creating an instant pond.... always something going on it seems

 

[sissy]

Yeh i put extentions on my gutters to take the water away .I guess when you have houses tight together it can be worse .