Was watching the evening news and I was blown away but the little scrolling banner at the bottom during the weather. The New's said this is the driest winter in north Texas since 1976. I knew it was a dry winter since 2 bedroom and 1 bath room door where sticking and not latching properly. About 3 years ago I had a tree removed that was about 3 ft from the foundation in that area, it was approx 45-50 ft tall. The tree people told me that I had to remove the tree because it was causing the foundation to lift and causing the doors to not close properly. Now that trees roots are rotting and the foundation is settling back down and the dry winter was also not helping. Seems the foundation settled down too much; however the recent rains have swelled the the dirt and the foundation in the troubled area is now it the proper position. The solution it would seem is to either have foundation piers added or try the low tech and low cost alternative of soaker hoses. Soaker hoses, placed in the right area and setup with a timer that will water the affected area and keep the moisture level at an even keel. Too wet or too dry and the doors close or will not latch properly. I may wind up needing foundation piers in the end but I will try the low tech solution first. The trick is going to be keeping the area from getting too wet this spring, I am also going to add gutters and use the downspouts to push the water away from the affected area so I can control the moisture level at the foundation at as much of a constant as possible. I am going to add a flower bed with about 4 inches of mulch to help keep the moisture in the dirt and hide the soaker hoses. Now the hoses will be dual-purpose, water the flowers and the foundation.
So if you see cracks in your bricks or sticking doors and windows, you may be suffering the affects of the north Texas soils. Swells when wet and shrinks when dry, or I like to call it the bucking bronco dirt. An architect I know told me the dirt here can move as much as 18 inches, I thought 6 to 8 inches at most. If you have the same issues as I am having you can add gutters and try the low tech solution but keep in mind you may need piers added to your foundation.
