Foundation Basics: What It Is, What Goes Wrong and Where

Start here if you want to understand how a foundation works before worrying about yours. These guides cover what a foundation is, the causes behind most problems, how your region and house type change the picture, and how to keep problems from starting.

1What a foundation is

The parts, the types and the vocabulary you need before anything else makes sense.

• What Is a Foundation? Types, Parts and How It Can FailWhat a foundation does, the main types (slab, crawl space, basement, deep), and the terms you will hear.
• Foundation Repair Glossary: Terms Explained in Plain EnglishDefinitions of the words used in inspection reports, engineer letters and repair quotes.

2What goes wrong and why

Soil that swells and shrinks, water in the wrong place, trees, frost and sinkholes: the causes behind most foundation problems.

• Expansive Clay Soil: Why It Damages Foundations and Where It IsHow swelling and shrinking clay moves houses, how widespread it is, and how to look up your soil.
• Water, Drainage and Foundations: Grading, Gutters and French DrainsWhy water is the common thread in foundation problems, and what grading, gutters, drains and irrigation do.
• Trees and Foundations: How Far Is Far Enough?How trees affect foundations in clay soil, planting distances from three references, and what to know before removing one.
• Frost Heave and Foundations in Cold ClimatesHow freezing ground lifts structures, what frost depth means, and how frost-protected shallow foundations work.
• Sinkholes and Karst: When the Ground Itself Is the ProblemHow sinkholes form, which states see the most damage, and what to do if you suspect ground collapse.

3Does it apply to you?

Which problems are likely where you live and for your kind of house, since foundation issues differ by region.

• Foundation Problems by Region: Clay, Frost, Karst and High WaterWhich foundation hazards are tied to soil, climate and geology, and where to check your own risk.
• Foundation Repair in Texas: Clay Soil, Engineering Guidelines and Local ContextWhat makes Texas foundation work distinctive, with the ASCE Texas Section guidelines, NRCS findings and disclosure law.

9Keeping it from happening

A seasonal checklist of simple habits that reduce foundation movement.

• Foundation Maintenance Checklist: Seasonal Steps That Prevent ProblemsSimple habits that reduce foundation movement: drainage, moisture, trees, monitoring and records.
• A Fall Foundation Check Before Winter BlogGutters, downspouts, grading, sprinklers, porches and crawl spaces: a short outdoor and underfloor check before the cold.