Protect Your Home’s Foundation from the Winter Weather

Soil is Under Pressure

In addition to frost, soil composition is another factor that can impact your home.

Different soil types are affected by moisture in different ways. Ohio’s clay soil holds onto the water and expands when it is wet. When it’s dry it shrinks.

As the soil expands when it is wet, it puts a lot of pressure on your basement walls. When the pressure becomes more than the wall can handle, it begins to push inward.

This is known as hydrostatic pressure, which affects the wall’s structural integrity.

Cause for concern

A homeowner in Zanesville, OH, contacted Ohio Basement Authority in early 2014 when the weather was brutally cold. She noticed that two of her basement walls were cracking and bowing inward.

Ohio Basement Authority addressed the homeowner’s concerns by repairing the cracks and installing 18 steel I-beams on the two problem walls.

The heavy-duty, zinc-plated steel beams are fit specifically to each basement wall height, and they are tightly secured to prevent further bowing.

These are just a couple things to keep in mind, as there are a number of potential causes of cracked and bowing foundation walls. 

Contact Us For More Information

Ohio Basement Authority can help you address your various structural needs. Ohio Basement Authority serves the Greater Columbus area including Columbus, Delaware, Powell, Westerville, Blacklick, Dublin, Pickerington, Reynoldsburg, Lancaster, Newark, Zanesville, and nearby.

Holly Richards-Purpura

Content Writer

Holly is a Content Writer for Groundworks who has written and edited web content for the foundation services industry for over 10 years. With a background in journalism, her passion for the written word runs deep. Holly lives in Columbus, OH, with her husband. Along with educating homeowners, she also has a big heart for the Big Apple.