Pro Tip: Building on Expansive Clay Soil

Tips, Tricks

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In this Pro Tip episode I'll give you a way to know if the soil under your property has a high Clay content, and I'll talk about why expansive clay can wreck havoc on your concrete foundation. For more tips on building & remodeling visit my blog at www.MattRisinger.com Matt Risinger Risinger Homes in Austin TX

Comments

+Matt, I live in Ohio, and our county is famous for having a lot of clay. However, I've never heard of homes hear having any kind of special foundation. The only topic seems to be whether the basement walls should be poured our block. Poured walls seem to be the default, and it is usually stated as being due to the clay. Is it perhaps because some types of clay or less expansive?

hi matt
does building a foundation on expansive clay more expensive than the normal soil ?thanks

Matt I'm surprised you dont have your own tv show yet! Seriously, you are an outstanding presenter, highly knowledgeable, with top notch advice. All the best. -Cheers

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH I CAM"T WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT EPISODE COMES OUT!

Thank you. Your videos are a great service to all architects, contractors, and the high performance home building industry in particular. I know several team members on the certifications team at Earth Advantage watch your videos.

I can't wait to see the next videos on this.

Looking forward to future videos on this subject matter. Living in Mississippi, we too have a high clay content in our soil. Thanks again for another great video.

Matt, we're plagued by the same soils here in Jackson, Mississippi. I'm a home builder/licensed home inspector. I've measured dozens of homes here, some 9 inches out of level. It's important to know what's under your foundation. I too recommend soil tests and GEO engineer reports.

In Russia, it is the most common loam soil. The easiest is the foundation of reinforced concrete pillars below the freezing depth. If the groundwater is close, it is necessary to drill below. A more expensive and the most common variant in Russia is a concrete ribbon below the freezing depth. Sorry for English, Google translator.

Would a helical post foundation still have problems with expansive clay?

liked how you broke up problem---solution to keep videos brief. great job matt

My home is on expansive clay soil. Would love to know anything that can be done on existing structures to mitigate the impact of expansive clay.