Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hey, welcome to guarden Line. Welcome back to Guardline. Good
to have you with us. I wanted to before I forget,
I wanted to tell you that I always talk about
these schedules that I have online on gardeningwith Skip dot com,
the lawn care schedule and the lawn Pest Disease and
We'd management schedule. Both of those have been updated. Not
(00:30):
dramatic changes, you know, like no, this was wrong, I'm
changing it, but just adjustments that according to research I've
run across recently, according to personal experience, and according to
you guys that have read the schedules and then asked
me questions because something wasn't clear. So I've taken those
to heart and made changes to make it more clear
(00:51):
based on how people see it. So check them out.
They are available at Gardening with Skip dot Com. This hour,
we are going to be talking with Ty Strickland from
Fix my Slab Foundation Repair about things related to foundations. Now,
if you have trees or if your neighbors have trees,
(01:12):
you got roots around your foundation, and a lot of
people ask questions like you know, to do roots lift
and crack foundations? What can I do about the issues
with foundations and whatnot. We're gonna pick Ty's brain today
and find out all kinds of things that I think
would be very helpful for you to know. So we're
going to head out here and Ty, are you there?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
I won't escape. How are you?
Speaker 1 (01:37):
I'm doing good? Thanks so much for taking time out
to be on Guarden Line today. I really appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
No, I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Still, go ahead, I'm just going to tell you that, yeah,
I am happy to be here because I have been
out and invited to your audience's home, and I can
tell you that your audience is bang up on maintaining
They're not only their yard, but they are interested on
maintaining their home and the foundation. So I'm happy to
(02:07):
be here and answer any questions that you have.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
Well.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Good, and I appreciate that you do free estimates for
folks calling in you from Guarden Line and coming on
out and doing that. By the way, there's a little
delay in our conversation, so we end up talking each
other over each other, So don't worry about that. We'll
get past We'll get past that. So foundation issues, you know,
(02:32):
no one wants to think about, Oh my gosh, my
foundation is cracked. I'm gonna have to take the kids
college money and away and go fix the house and stuff.
And they want It's almost like an ostrichen head in
the sand kind of thing where I don't even want
think about it. I don't even want to look at it.
But you know, people see a sticky door, they see
(02:53):
a cracking the sheet rock or cracking the brick on
the outside and things, and I think it's important for
them to give you a call. One of the things
I appreciate about you and the way you guys do
business is you'll come out and take a look, and
if something is not needed, you'll let them know that,
and if it is, you'll tell them what their options
are and how to fix it.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Right, And I.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Would just like you to, first of all, kind of
briefly go over what do you do when you go
onto a site to look at a foundation? Basically, what
are you looking at? What are the initial steps, and
how does that work?
Speaker 3 (03:26):
The first thing I like to this skip is go
inside and ask the customer how can I help you?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
And what are you seeing? What is your concerns?
Speaker 3 (03:35):
And you know, like you said, it's a lot of time,
it's sticky doors and sheet rock cracks and that sort
of thing. So I just kind of let them show
me around, let me know what their concerns are, and
then I go outside and then I do my exterior inspection.
And you know, things I'm looking for is, you know,
are the expansion joints open. Are they open at the
(03:57):
top or they open at the bottom. They mean two
different things. The calking around, you know, your windows, your tremboard,
where the brick meets meets the roof.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Is that kicked out?
Speaker 3 (04:10):
So there's some subtle things that I see right off
that I get kind of get a good indication on
what's going on. And then you know, I do a
detailed drawing to scale, and then we go in and
we take some elevation readings, and by that time I
can actually sit down and at the kitchen table and
explain to the homeowner what's going on, what's needed, and
(04:34):
what they need to do now or what they need
to pay attention to in the future. Probably about thirty
percent of the houses we look at, you know, they're
not necessary candidates for foundation repair at that time.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Well that's good news, I'm sure. Yeah, I'm glad to
hear that it is it true. This is my impression
that our clay soil is number one. They move a lot.
I know that's true. When they get we they swell.
When they get dry, they shrink. But is it true
that pretty much every foundation there's a potential for some
(05:08):
movement to be there as it settles or you know,
just from construction or other issues that there's no such
thing as just like okay, do you don't have to
worry about anything. Nothing's gonna move or anything like that.
It's a matter of how much do they move and
what damage do they cause?
Speaker 4 (05:24):
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (05:26):
That is skip?
Speaker 3 (05:27):
I mean, you know, and we're not going to get
into the weeds and talk about plasticity index and all
that stuff, but you're right. Our soul swells when it's
wet and contracts when it's dry. So we build what
we call floating slabs, and they're designed to go up
and down, so you're always going to have some seasonal movement.
The hard part, the tricky part, however you want to
(05:49):
look at it, is trying to maintain equal moisture around
your house, which is almost impossible. You're going to overtime,
whether it's oak trees in your front yard, whether it's
the drainage in the backyard. You're going to develop differential
moisture around your house and that can cause differential movement
and at some point it can become excessive and need
(06:13):
foundation repair to either stabilize it or provide recovery of
the slab. But yes, our slabs are designed for our
soul conditions.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Okay, Well that's good to know.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
So when when foundation work has to be done, I
guess there's different levels of steps that you would have
to take. I'm always amazed that you guys can like
pour a concrete pillar underground to help support and hold
(06:47):
a foundation. Could you just, in a nutshell explain what
that even means and how on earth would you go
under a house and pour a pillar that it would
be a stable foundation to hold that slab.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Well, there's there's several method skip, And you mentioned pouring. Uh,
that would technically be a drilled pier.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
That was probably.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Used prime that was probably used primarily before a press
piling was developed in the early nineties, but now probably
I don't know the number, Skip, If it's eighty five
ninety of the repairs in the Gulf Coast are done
with a press piling and they're basically a segmented system
where we take concrete cylinders that are six inches in
(07:32):
diamer twelve inches long, we dig underneath your house and
strategic locations, and we actually hydraulically push these in the
ground until we can't push them any further. Basically, think
about it a house and galastad up on still to
create stilts, which gives us the ability to lift your
house back into place.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Wow, it just seems like you have not be able
to lift a house. But that must be some cool
equipment to be able to do that. Okay, well that
is good to know. That is good to know. So
in doing the we're talking about foundations right now, let's
see here, I have to keep watching. Oh, I'm gonna
(08:13):
have to take a little break. I get I get
into these conversations, I'll lose track of time. We're gonna
take a quick break time. We'll be right back with you, folks.
If you have any questions about foundations, anything you know
in terms of repair or assessing things or whatever, give
us a call this hour. We are taking calls on
that if anyone does have one. Foundations and sidewalks and
(08:34):
driveways too, we'll take calls on all that seven one three,
two one two fifty eight seventy four. We'll be right back,
all right. I was just talking with my producers. I
got a quiz for you. Why did we play this song? Okay,
brace yourself. This is corny. The name of the group
is The Foundations. Sorry, I mean we were we were
(08:57):
stretching here. Oh boy, well, Ty, it is good to
have you back, continuing on with our conversation. Yeah, about
foundations of foundation repair and things. You know, the the
when you drive around and you see sidewalks that are buckled.
(09:17):
I was saying last hour that I was going down
the street the other day and I saw a sidewalk
that literally the peak of the sidewalk was like a
foot higher than the rest of the sidewalk because some
big root had gotten under it, and you know, not
at that just single point, but it broken it and
lifted it up that I don't see how you get
a bicycle down that sidewalk, but you see that, and
(09:38):
it's because a root grew under it. And when that
root was a little piece of spaghetti, that's fine, But
then it becomes the size of a pencil, and then
you know, the size of a coke can. And the
next thing you know, we've got this giant crack. And
people think that that's happening to the foundation too, but
that's not quite correct, and so i'd like you to
(09:59):
clarify that and give us any information you can on
what it is. How is a route involved in a
foundation issue?
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Well, first of.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
All, skip of the sidewalk we we call that a
skateboard ramp, and you know there's that there's not much
we can do. So once they get there, obviously there's
two ways all concrete news. It's up, which is heaving,
and then there's down, which is settling.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
So whether it's foundation repair or whether it's a.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
Mud pumping of a sidewalk or a driveway, we we
can't bring the sidewalk down or foundation down.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
It just doesn't happen like that.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
So if the scenario you're talking about too bad, I'm sorry,
but that's that section of concrete is going to have
to be removed, the root's going to have to be
cut and install a root barrier to prevent that from
happening again, and it's going to have.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
To be repaired.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
But whether it's your sidewalk, that's dropping, which happens also
due to the tree roots sucking the moisture out of
the soil. We can come in and we can drill
holes into the sidewalk, lift it back up, and that's
gonna save a homeowner probably seventy percent of the cost
of busting out and repairing or pouring new concrete. But
(11:23):
the same thing happens also with your foundations. The problem
with the tree roots is very simply we talked about
trying to maintain equal moisture.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
It's just a matter of time.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
In these developments now where they're requiring two to four
oak trees in a relatively small front yard, somewhere between
the fifteen and twenty five year mark, the front of
the houses are gonna drop. It takes a little bit
longer because your foundation has a perimeter grade beam that's
probably somewhere around thirty six inches deep versus your four
inch piece of sidewalk or driveway, so they're gonna move quicker.
(12:01):
So once that happens, you have to go down and
change the quality of soil supporting the house. I look
at very simply, probably most cases around Houston, the top
eight foot of soil is what I call the active
zone that's affected by the wind, the sun, the rain,
and the tree roots. Once you get below that active
(12:22):
zone into we'll say the non active zone, the moisture
content and the soil at that depth is remaining relatively constant.
So when we install our pilings i mentioned earlier, just
like a house at Galliston on stilts, all we're doing
is changing the quality of soil supporting your house to
a soil that's not changing moisture content. And therefore that's
(12:46):
why we have the ability to give lifetime warranties on
a foundation repair drop.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Well, is that something that coud or should be done
when the house is built, or is that that would
be such an added expense they probably wouldn't want to
do it.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
And for lack of a better word, your your track
builders are not going to go to that expense. Certainly,
if you're building a custom home, you're gonna do. Yeah,
you're going to do individual soul samples and determine what
type of foundation you need or if you need pre
construction drilled piers or what we call builders peers. So yes,
(13:26):
you can do it on the front end, and yes,
the camper the foundation repair in the future, but most
track home or homes.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Home builders are not going to do that.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
We see the same thing in landscapes from from that
kind of track home building, you know, where it's like, okay,
where can we buy you know, a thousand live oaks
real cheap and throw them in and grade the soil
off and not put a quality topsaw down and just
drop some some Saint Augustine on it and then get
our money and move on to the next development.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Get it down, it's green, and we can sell the house.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Yeah, Now, I had a call the other day from
a group and they were requiring, uh, two or three
trees for the front yard and it wasn't even enough
room for one tree between the sidewalk and the house
and the driveway and the property line.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
You know, So that's that's a whole other thing.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Yeah, we certainly don't want to throw the home builders
under under the bus here because it actually goes back
to the developer. It's the developer who requires that. So
you know, the whatever sub division that a home builder
goes into, uh, they're not making those decisions. That's already
designed and planned, and so it's it's just passed the
(14:52):
home of the home builders.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Yeah, I understand that that's a good point to make.
Well anyway, So would you say then that in general,
when you have foundation problems, it's not because a root
is lifting the foundation. It's probably because roots are just
taking the moisture away and creating those wide fluctuations from
(15:15):
when it gets wet from rain to when it gets
dry because the trees have pumped a lot of water out.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Exactly. Skip.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
I mean, just like we said the sidewalk that can
be lifted up, it's a very very rare circumstance where
a tree is causing the house to lift up. And
once again, it's all about the moisture or the differential
moisture caused by the root system of the live oak trees.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Well and something and this is speaking from a horticultural standpoint,
but people think of a tree root as being a
mirror image on the top and the bottom. So and
you see this on tree care company signs. Sometimes it's
like the tree is going up and you got this
rounded top tree, and then underground you've got a like
a mirror image of roots that make you know, are
(16:07):
like a big bowl shaped that go down as deep
as they do wide and so on and reality is
tree roots are almost all the ninety top foot of soil.
It could be less than that. In some of our
clay soils. There are roots that go deeper, but most
of the tree roots are in the top and they
can go. I know, back when I was learning about
(16:32):
fruit and nut development and my master's were they took
pecan trees and washed out roots to follow how far
does this root go? And they went out two and
a half times the height of a pecan tree. Now,
now that's in good soil, but that is a long
way out there. So people say, well, how close to
(16:52):
the house can I plant a tree? Well, it's more
of a question that do you want limbs rubbing the
roof and you know, hitting the eve and stuff, Because
if you put it ten feet away versus fifty feet away,
roots are going to go find that nice moist soil
where the rain comes off the roof every time and
soaks the soil, and they're going to develop there and
they're gonna pump that soil dry. So the distance from
(17:16):
a soil drying standpoint is really not that significant. So
I guess what I'm trying to say is, if there's
a tree in your yard, or your neighbor's yard. You
probably got roots around your foundation from that tree.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
You know.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
That was actually a question I had for you skip.
You know the seminars I've been to, I kind of
look at it and say, oak trees, tree west one
and a half times the canopy.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Is that a fair assessment or order? Is it much more?
Is it double the canopy?
Speaker 4 (17:51):
It can be.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
There's been some good work done in Florida by a
name men named ed Gilman over the years, and they
even have you can see a little charred of like
an elm tree, a maple tree or whatever. And those
are generalized, and of course you got to allow for
the climate and for the type of soil and so on.
But I would say twice the twice the height is common.
(18:12):
I've seen some trees that they'll say it goes over
three times, but I think that's an unusual case. The
bottom line is your neighbor two houses down may well
probably has roots over near your foundation. And wherever trees
find water, where roots find water, that's where they proliferate.
You know, it's like, okay, this is dependable when they
(18:32):
build their root system in moist soil areas and so
it's a wonder we don't have more problems than we do.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
No, I totally agree with that skip, But like I said,
I was just you know, generalizing whenever I look at
it and talk to a consumer or a homeowner and say,
you know, yeah, just because you're trees thirty feet away,
that does not mean that it's not affecting. And it's
underneath your foundation right now, under damn soil.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
You're yeah, you're right, And I've got about thirty seconds
to a really hard break. But I think the impression
is when you see a tree by a sidewalk, the
closer to the sidewalk it is, the more likely it's
going to lift the sidewalk because the roots are biggest
closest to the tree with the foundation. Because of what
you've just talked about drying the soil out, the tree
(19:27):
doesn't have to be that close to have the same effect.
So I'm gonna take a little break here. Ty, this
is great, Thanks so much. We're talking to Ty Strickland
from Fix my Slab Foundation Repair. We're going to take
a break here for the news, and then we're going
to come back and talk to Bob in Cyprus, who
has a question about superhoses around the foundation.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
Tye right back.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Hey, welcome back to Guardenline. Glad to have you with
us this morning. Let's see, we're gonna I'm gonna get
you to connect me.
Speaker 4 (19:57):
Here with Tie and our caller as well.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
Ty.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
We have a we have a question from Bob and Cyprus,
and we're going to make this connection across from you
to Bob. If I can do that myself, Nope, I'm
gonna believe I'm gonna have to have somebody to do
that for me.
Speaker 4 (20:16):
Wait just one.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Second while I'm while I'm waiting on that, Alejandro, if
you can make that connection please. We've been talking with
Ty Strickland from Fix my Slab Foundation Repair, Fix My
Slab Foundation Repair. You've heard me talk about them all
the time. They One of the things I appreciate about
Ty in this company is they have a work ethic
(20:38):
that you would want out of any service, any service
person that comes to your house, and that is show
up on time. How many times have you been told, yeah,
set the day aside, I don't know when we'll show up,
just sit at your house and we may or may not.
They show up when they say they're going to show up,
they fix it for a reasonable price, and they fix
(20:59):
it right.
Speaker 4 (21:01):
Now.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Let's see, I'm still not able to connect the callers here, Tyre,
are you there?
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Yeah, I am skipped. Would you like to talk a
little bit about socer hoses? Maybe we can answer your
colors question.
Speaker 4 (21:18):
Actually we got Bob on now. Thank you. Bob. Go
ahead and ask your question for Tie please.
Speaker 5 (21:25):
Hey, ty I have some of the symptoms in my
house that you explained in the opening segment, expansion joints
opening and closing back up, and a crack tile in
the house and hairline cracks and sheet rock.
Speaker 6 (21:49):
Almost invisible. But I'll put a socer hose around the
foundation and right now I've got it set at twelve
inches How close do you recommend those soaker hosts be
to a foundation?
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Eighteen inches away is what I think is optimum?
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Okay?
Speaker 6 (22:12):
And another question after a foundation repair is there should
I expect damage to sheet rock and paint inside the
house it's going to have to be fixed, yes and no.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
There's a couple of ways to answer that. If the repairs,
if there's been repairs to the sheet rock that was
caused by foundation droppage, or sinkage when we lift up,
those are probably going to protrude outward because you fill
the void that we're trying to close.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
By lifting your house.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
But each house is different, even after twenty five years.
I can't tell you exactly what's going to happen with
every single house until we start lifting and putting pressure
on it. But I guess what I would tell you
is that you know this is a structural repair versus
a cosmetic repair, and.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
If you have that distinction, you know.
Speaker 3 (23:16):
You know which one do you want to handle the
structural with my opinion?
Speaker 7 (23:20):
Uh huh?
Speaker 6 (23:21):
And does does foundation repair affect the roof?
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Certainly if some always get the foundation first done before
you do a roof, because what we're actually doing when
the foundation settles, the wall is actually rolling outward or
in the direction of the settlement. That's why your expansion
joint is opening at the top. So, for instance, somebody
has foundation issues, they put a new roof in and
(23:51):
we go lift the house back up. It has the
possibility of crinkling the roof just because the wall's rolling in.
But without a new roof, no, you're not typically going
to have any type of roofs of issues. We're just
kind of pushing the house back towards its original position.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Okay, sir, thank you, thank you. Bob.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
All right, hey, Bob, thanks appreciate that call. Good questions
time about that. Now, let's talk about socer hoses a
little bit. You made a statement early on that it
is very difficult to keep even so moisture around the house,
and a socer hose may help. I mean, it's not
going to necessarily fix every problem you have, but you
(24:38):
suggested about eighteen inches away. Any other information about socer hoses,
like how often do you run them? Or is there
any other advice you would give somebody who is wanting
to try to slow that movement down a little bit.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
Yeah, so let's skip like we talked about it.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
This isn't an ABC deal, but because every every weather
pattern is a little bit different. But I guess in
the grand scheme of things, what I tell people is
you're trying to maintain that moisture content that you have
coming out of a normal spring pattern as far as
not of rainfall.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
The biggest thing is if.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
You wait till we get into drought, you're never gonna
catch up. So as we come into June and not.
This year obviously been extremely wet. But in a normal June,
we start to get a little dry, use your soca
hose one day a week for twenty twenty five minutes.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
We get into August and a.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Little hotter, drier now two to three times a week,
and then if we get really really drought, you're you're
doing it three or four times a week for twenty
five minutes at a time, and once again you're trying
to just maintain the moisture content. And what people don't
think about it, Well, I have an irrigation system. Well
that's that's great, But in the middle of the summer,
(26:01):
you may get four to six inches of penetration with
your sprinkler system, and evaporation takes place in the bottom
of your concrete footing or your perimeter of your slab
is thirty six inches deep, so you're really not getting
it down where it needs to be to maintain that soil.
Speaker 4 (26:21):
Okay, that's really good information.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Now, having said that, when you put a soaker hose anywhere,
you're going to get development of roots underground as a
result of dependable moisture. I think that you guys may
offer some services as far as dealing with the roots themselves.
Speaker 4 (26:39):
Would you like to.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Talk a little bit about what can be done and
what you're able to do from a company standpoint.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
Absolutely, There's a product that we use and I've used
it for years.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
It's called bio barrier.
Speaker 3 (26:54):
And essentially we can dig a trench down and put
in this material and it has a herbst side.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
And you can you know a lot more than I do.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
About this, but in order for your roots to expand,
the cells have to divide. So this herbicide essentially prevents
the cell division. And you can strategically put in bio
barrier to keep the roots from growing underneath your house
very simply, and that certainly can help. That product comes
(27:25):
with a manufacturer's warranty of fifteen years against root intrusion
past your barrier. But in the grand scheme of things,
skip that's a maintenance issue. And you know the rule
of thumb in Houston for foundation repair, it's not if,
it's when, So there's just not a one solution against
not having to have foundation repair unfortunately.
Speaker 4 (27:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Yeah, well that's that's interesting. And how deep do you
put those barriers? When you put them in?
Speaker 3 (27:54):
Roughly, they make several different depths there anywhere from nineteen
inches to thirty five inches, I believe.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Okay, all right, Well, one thing it does in the trenching,
you're cutting all the roots that are going from the
from the trench toward the house.
Speaker 4 (28:14):
You know, you're removing those, so.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
Yeah, but there's a there's also a leeching effect with
the herbicide that you know goes down deeper.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
I believe.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Oh okay, all right, well, good, well, this is good.
We're pick this is helpful.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Ty.
Speaker 4 (28:34):
I appreciate you being here. I hope.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
I know the listeners are enjoying learning about this because
there's there's a lot more to it than we thought,
and we're learning about that. We're going to take a
quick break for our come back for our last segment,
and we got Mel and Carmine that's got a question
about small cracks in the slab. When we come back,
we'll be right back, folks. Well, welcome back, folks, Welcome
(28:56):
back to garden Line. We are visiting with Tys Strickland
from fixing my slab foundation repair and learning a lot
about what causes foundation problems, things we can do to
help slow it down at least alleviate it or if
you will prevent it as best we can, and then
of course how the process is of getting it fixed
(29:17):
when it's needed. And I just think this is really
good getting good response from listeners on this topic. Today,
we're going to go now out to Carmine if Alejandro,
if you can connect us to Mel. Mel's got a
question about hairline cracks in the slab for time. Hey Mel,
welcome to garden Line.
Speaker 8 (29:38):
Oh thank you so much guys for having this program
on today. A big fan and love it. I just
had a question about I have about a five year
old house and it's I guess you'd call it a
floating slab that the house sits on, and the portions
of my house towards the mental I have these hairline
(30:01):
cracks in the mike patio slab outside and then the tiles,
the ceramic tiles in the house have gotten hairline cracks
in the floor. And the company came out and tested it.
You know, there's some kind of machine in here to
look at how the difference in the height, and I
(30:22):
just didn't know if there's anything more I need to do.
They said it's fine, it's normal settling. But to me,
it's unsettling to see the cracks, especially in your tile.
Speaker 3 (30:33):
Yeah, you know the tile cracks. First, I'll let me
back up. All concrete is gonna crack. I mean, it
could be as simple as you're gonna get hairline cracks
if the wind picked up during the poor So just
because you have some hairline cracks in your any type
of concrete, that is definitely not a failure.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
I know.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
It's unsettling when you see the cracking in the tile,
and typically if you're starting to see it only a
house five years old, Remember you do have a ten
years builder's warranty, so it is very important to stay
on top of it and get some baseline readings where
your house is now so you can do it again
(31:14):
before the ten year warranty ends. But most of the
hairline cracks are going to be in relation to your
exterior expansion joints, and sometimes it'll go straight across your house,
and that's just kind of the beginning signs of possible
foundation problems. And that expansion joint is doing its job.
(31:34):
It's essentially creating a hinge point and it cracks across
the tile sometimes unfortunately, but you really until you start
seeing door sticking diagonal cracks off of your doorframes that
would be perpendicular to that exterior wall is really when
you need to start being a little more concerned.
Speaker 8 (31:56):
All right, well, great, that's very reassuring, man, Thank you
very much. And you know, we planted, uh, flower beds and.
Speaker 7 (32:03):
Stuff around the house to try, you know, to make
the landscape me pretty, but we did not put any
really big plants because we're afraid that that was going
to cause the moisture. And I do have a soaker
hose system around it, but I'm not quite sure how
often you run it and for how long, because there's.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
No way to tell.
Speaker 7 (32:26):
If the you know, waters up underneath a slab.
Speaker 2 (32:30):
Yeah, and then that's what I mentioned. That's what I
mentioned earlier.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
I think in the last in the last segment is
is uh, it's very it's very difficult to maintain equal moisture.
But it's all about trying to maintain it and and
not trying to catch up. And and I wouldn't worry
too much about the plants and shrubbery around your house.
That's that's really not pun intended. The root calls it's
(32:57):
it's typically the oak trees or trees uh, in close
proximity to the house.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Hey, Mel, thank you very much. I appreciate appreciate that, appreciate.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Your appreciate all your health.
Speaker 4 (33:11):
Good all right, all right bye bye.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
Uh So, ty got we're running short here, but I
got a couple of questions I want to I want
to ask you about. First of all, what area do
you guys service forfect my slab foundation repair? Like we
got listeners all the way down in Corpus and the
Louisiana border in Huntsville.
Speaker 4 (33:32):
So how far do you go?
Speaker 3 (33:35):
Yes, yes, and yes skip if they can hear us
on self, really, if they can hear us on seven forty,
which as you know, is a fifty thousand.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
Watt channel, yes, i'll go.
Speaker 3 (33:48):
Yeah. If if you've got a problem, all right, I'll
be glad to come take a look at it. And
you know, for your guardline listeners request when you call
the office and request personal that I come out, I'll
be glad to do that.
Speaker 4 (34:04):
Well, that's a generous offer. I appreciate that tie a lot.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
I know with you know, I would have you been
doing this like almost twenty five years now?
Speaker 3 (34:14):
Well, yeah, every morning I look in the mirror and
more and more gray. But yeah, I'm pushing twenty five
plus now, and you know, I think besides that, Skip,
you know, I think more importantly that fix my slaves
in business for fifteen years, and you know they talk
(34:34):
about five years is you know when you get over
the mark. I don't know about that, but I can
tell you that we are deeply concerned with the taking
care of homeowners and more importantly fixing their homes.
Speaker 4 (34:48):
Well.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
I appreciate that, and I know that's true. I when
I have a sponsor on guarden Line, it's someone whoever
either used which I say, fortunately for me, I've not
had to use you, but are someone that just the reputation,
the work, the quality, the perspective on taking care of
customers and how you go about doing business has got
(35:10):
to be good. And that's not at all a question
with you guys.
Speaker 4 (35:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
The other question that I had is I would like
you to explain to folks how you repair a driveway.
I just find this to be fascinating. You know, it
could be heaving or tilting or cracked or something. What
is the process of going in and fixing that?
Speaker 3 (35:31):
So Skip, that whole industry has changed a little bit.
Used to people didn't worry about their trip hazards that much,
but it's gotten down to the point now that insurance
companies are requiring that you get rid of your trip
hazards before they'll renew your homeowner's insurance policy. But very simply,
what we're doing is we're going in strategically drilling holes
(35:55):
in the areas that we're trying to adjust, and we
are pumping at sementitious out into that. And Number one,
first thing we when we pump is that we're filling
any voids and then once we fill those voids, we
essentially build up pressure and we can lift the individual
sections of the driveway and lift them back up to
(36:17):
get rid of that trip hazard.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
So number one, nobody trips over.
Speaker 3 (36:23):
But number two that it's back to looking correct.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
But it's you know, after twenty five years.
Speaker 3 (36:31):
I look at it as a very simple process, and
I know, maybe overwhelming whether it's your foundation.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
Or or your driveway.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Or sidewalk, but it's a relatively easy process. And if
you catch that stuff early, like I said earlier, that
lifting your driveway is thirty percent the cost of replacing it,
So you know, get on a quick and you know
we're going out of there in a couple of hours
and we can we can get rid of your trip
hazards pretty easy. And if if not, if it's too far,
(37:00):
I pour a lot of new driveways and sidewalks as well.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
All right, well, it sounds like if it's concrete, you
do it well. Ty has been great. I know we
could keep going on questions. It's obvious you know your business,
you know how to do things. I love your perspective
on how you go about business and stuff. Thank you
so much for being on today. I know we had
a lot of interest in our listeners because everybody has
(37:27):
got a house as a foundation, and pretty much everybody's
got a tree. Thank you so much, sir. I wish
our time was longer, but we're going to say goodbye
and wish you well.
Hey, welcome to guarden Line. Welcome back to Guardline. Good
to have you with us. I wanted to before I forget,
I wanted to tell you that I always talk about
these schedules that I have online on gardeningwith Skip dot com,
the lawn care schedule and the lawn Pest Disease and
We'd management schedule. Both of those have been updated. Not
(00:30):
dramatic changes, you know, like no, this was wrong, I'm
changing it, but just adjustments that according to research I've
run across recently, according to personal experience, and according to
you guys that have read the schedules and then asked
me questions because something wasn't clear. So I've taken those
to heart and made changes to make it more clear
(00:51):
based on how people see it. So check them out.
They are available at Gardening with Skip dot Com. This hour,
we are going to be talking with Ty Strickland from
Fix my Slab Foundation Repair about things related to foundations. Now,
if you have trees or if your neighbors have trees,
(01:12):
you got roots around your foundation, and a lot of
people ask questions like you know, to do roots lift
and crack foundations? What can I do about the issues
with foundations and whatnot. We're gonna pick Ty's brain today
and find out all kinds of things that I think
would be very helpful for you to know. So we're
going to head out here and Ty, are you there?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
I won't escape. How are you?
Speaker 1 (01:37):
I'm doing good? Thanks so much for taking time out
to be on Guarden Line today. I really appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
No, I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Still, go ahead, I'm just going to tell you that, yeah,
I am happy to be here because I have been
out and invited to your audience's home, and I can
tell you that your audience is bang up on maintaining
They're not only their yard, but they are interested on
maintaining their home and the foundation. So I'm happy to
(02:07):
be here and answer any questions that you have.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
Well.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Good, and I appreciate that you do free estimates for
folks calling in you from Guarden Line and coming on
out and doing that. By the way, there's a little
delay in our conversation, so we end up talking each
other over each other, So don't worry about that. We'll
get past We'll get past that. So foundation issues, you know,
(02:32):
no one wants to think about, Oh my gosh, my
foundation is cracked. I'm gonna have to take the kids
college money and away and go fix the house and stuff.
And they want It's almost like an ostrichen head in
the sand kind of thing where I don't even want
think about it. I don't even want to look at it.
But you know, people see a sticky door, they see
(02:53):
a cracking the sheet rock or cracking the brick on
the outside and things, and I think it's important for
them to give you a call. One of the things
I appreciate about you and the way you guys do
business is you'll come out and take a look, and
if something is not needed, you'll let them know that,
and if it is, you'll tell them what their options
are and how to fix it.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Right, And I.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Would just like you to, first of all, kind of
briefly go over what do you do when you go
onto a site to look at a foundation? Basically, what
are you looking at? What are the initial steps, and
how does that work?
Speaker 3 (03:26):
The first thing I like to this skip is go
inside and ask the customer how can I help you?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
And what are you seeing? What is your concerns?
Speaker 3 (03:35):
And you know, like you said, it's a lot of time,
it's sticky doors and sheet rock cracks and that sort
of thing. So I just kind of let them show
me around, let me know what their concerns are, and
then I go outside and then I do my exterior inspection.
And you know, things I'm looking for is, you know,
are the expansion joints open. Are they open at the
(03:57):
top or they open at the bottom. They mean two
different things. The calking around, you know, your windows, your tremboard,
where the brick meets meets the roof.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Is that kicked out?
Speaker 3 (04:10):
So there's some subtle things that I see right off
that I get kind of get a good indication on
what's going on. And then you know, I do a
detailed drawing to scale, and then we go in and
we take some elevation readings, and by that time I
can actually sit down and at the kitchen table and
explain to the homeowner what's going on, what's needed, and
(04:34):
what they need to do now or what they need
to pay attention to in the future. Probably about thirty
percent of the houses we look at, you know, they're
not necessary candidates for foundation repair at that time.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Well that's good news, I'm sure. Yeah, I'm glad to
hear that it is it true. This is my impression
that our clay soil is number one. They move a lot.
I know that's true. When they get we they swell.
When they get dry, they shrink. But is it true
that pretty much every foundation there's a potential for some
(05:08):
movement to be there as it settles or you know,
just from construction or other issues that there's no such
thing as just like okay, do you don't have to
worry about anything. Nothing's gonna move or anything like that.
It's a matter of how much do they move and
what damage do they cause?
Speaker 4 (05:24):
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (05:26):
That is skip?
Speaker 3 (05:27):
I mean, you know, and we're not going to get
into the weeds and talk about plasticity index and all
that stuff, but you're right. Our soul swells when it's
wet and contracts when it's dry. So we build what
we call floating slabs, and they're designed to go up
and down, so you're always going to have some seasonal movement.
The hard part, the tricky part, however you want to
(05:49):
look at it, is trying to maintain equal moisture around
your house, which is almost impossible. You're going to overtime,
whether it's oak trees in your front yard, whether it's
the drainage in the backyard. You're going to develop differential
moisture around your house and that can cause differential movement
and at some point it can become excessive and need
(06:13):
foundation repair to either stabilize it or provide recovery of
the slab. But yes, our slabs are designed for our
soul conditions.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Okay, Well that's good to know.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
So when when foundation work has to be done, I
guess there's different levels of steps that you would have
to take. I'm always amazed that you guys can like
pour a concrete pillar underground to help support and hold
(06:47):
a foundation. Could you just, in a nutshell explain what
that even means and how on earth would you go
under a house and pour a pillar that it would
be a stable foundation to hold that slab.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Well, there's there's several method skip, And you mentioned pouring. Uh,
that would technically be a drilled pier.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
That was probably.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Used prime that was probably used primarily before a press
piling was developed in the early nineties, but now probably
I don't know the number, Skip, If it's eighty five
ninety of the repairs in the Gulf Coast are done
with a press piling and they're basically a segmented system
where we take concrete cylinders that are six inches in
(07:32):
diamer twelve inches long, we dig underneath your house and
strategic locations, and we actually hydraulically push these in the
ground until we can't push them any further. Basically, think
about it a house and galastad up on still to
create stilts, which gives us the ability to lift your
house back into place.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Wow, it just seems like you have not be able
to lift a house. But that must be some cool
equipment to be able to do that. Okay, well that
is good to know. That is good to know. So
in doing the we're talking about foundations right now, let's
see here, I have to keep watching. Oh, I'm gonna
(08:13):
have to take a little break. I get I get
into these conversations, I'll lose track of time. We're gonna
take a quick break time. We'll be right back with you, folks.
If you have any questions about foundations, anything you know
in terms of repair or assessing things or whatever, give
us a call this hour. We are taking calls on
that if anyone does have one. Foundations and sidewalks and
(08:34):
driveways too, we'll take calls on all that seven one three,
two one two fifty eight seventy four. We'll be right back,
all right. I was just talking with my producers. I
got a quiz for you. Why did we play this song? Okay,
brace yourself. This is corny. The name of the group
is The Foundations. Sorry, I mean we were we were
(08:57):
stretching here. Oh boy, well, Ty, it is good to
have you back, continuing on with our conversation. Yeah, about
foundations of foundation repair and things. You know, the the
when you drive around and you see sidewalks that are buckled.
(09:17):
I was saying last hour that I was going down
the street the other day and I saw a sidewalk
that literally the peak of the sidewalk was like a
foot higher than the rest of the sidewalk because some
big root had gotten under it, and you know, not
at that just single point, but it broken it and
lifted it up that I don't see how you get
a bicycle down that sidewalk, but you see that, and
(09:38):
it's because a root grew under it. And when that
root was a little piece of spaghetti, that's fine, But
then it becomes the size of a pencil, and then
you know, the size of a coke can. And the
next thing you know, we've got this giant crack. And
people think that that's happening to the foundation too, but
that's not quite correct, and so i'd like you to
(09:59):
clarify that and give us any information you can on
what it is. How is a route involved in a
foundation issue?
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Well, first of.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
All, skip of the sidewalk we we call that a
skateboard ramp, and you know there's that there's not much
we can do. So once they get there, obviously there's
two ways all concrete news. It's up, which is heaving,
and then there's down, which is settling.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
So whether it's foundation repair or whether it's a.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
Mud pumping of a sidewalk or a driveway, we we
can't bring the sidewalk down or foundation down.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
It just doesn't happen like that.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
So if the scenario you're talking about too bad, I'm sorry,
but that's that section of concrete is going to have
to be removed, the root's going to have to be
cut and install a root barrier to prevent that from
happening again, and it's going to have.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
To be repaired.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
But whether it's your sidewalk, that's dropping, which happens also
due to the tree roots sucking the moisture out of
the soil. We can come in and we can drill
holes into the sidewalk, lift it back up, and that's
gonna save a homeowner probably seventy percent of the cost
of busting out and repairing or pouring new concrete. But
(11:23):
the same thing happens also with your foundations. The problem
with the tree roots is very simply we talked about
trying to maintain equal moisture.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
It's just a matter of time.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
In these developments now where they're requiring two to four
oak trees in a relatively small front yard, somewhere between
the fifteen and twenty five year mark, the front of
the houses are gonna drop. It takes a little bit
longer because your foundation has a perimeter grade beam that's
probably somewhere around thirty six inches deep versus your four
inch piece of sidewalk or driveway, so they're gonna move quicker.
(12:01):
So once that happens, you have to go down and
change the quality of soil supporting the house. I look
at very simply, probably most cases around Houston, the top
eight foot of soil is what I call the active
zone that's affected by the wind, the sun, the rain,
and the tree roots. Once you get below that active
(12:22):
zone into we'll say the non active zone, the moisture
content and the soil at that depth is remaining relatively constant.
So when we install our pilings i mentioned earlier, just
like a house at Galliston on stilts, all we're doing
is changing the quality of soil supporting your house to
a soil that's not changing moisture content. And therefore that's
(12:46):
why we have the ability to give lifetime warranties on
a foundation repair drop.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Well, is that something that coud or should be done
when the house is built, or is that that would
be such an added expense they probably wouldn't want to
do it.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
And for lack of a better word, your your track
builders are not going to go to that expense. Certainly,
if you're building a custom home, you're gonna do. Yeah,
you're going to do individual soul samples and determine what
type of foundation you need or if you need pre
construction drilled piers or what we call builders peers. So yes,
(13:26):
you can do it on the front end, and yes,
the camper the foundation repair in the future, but most
track home or homes.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Home builders are not going to do that.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
We see the same thing in landscapes from from that
kind of track home building, you know, where it's like, okay,
where can we buy you know, a thousand live oaks
real cheap and throw them in and grade the soil
off and not put a quality topsaw down and just
drop some some Saint Augustine on it and then get
our money and move on to the next development.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Get it down, it's green, and we can sell the house.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Yeah, Now, I had a call the other day from
a group and they were requiring, uh, two or three
trees for the front yard and it wasn't even enough
room for one tree between the sidewalk and the house
and the driveway and the property line.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
You know, So that's that's a whole other thing.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Yeah, we certainly don't want to throw the home builders
under under the bus here because it actually goes back
to the developer. It's the developer who requires that. So
you know, the whatever sub division that a home builder
goes into, uh, they're not making those decisions. That's already
designed and planned, and so it's it's just passed the
(14:52):
home of the home builders.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Yeah, I understand that that's a good point to make.
Well anyway, So would you say then that in general,
when you have foundation problems, it's not because a root
is lifting the foundation. It's probably because roots are just
taking the moisture away and creating those wide fluctuations from
(15:15):
when it gets wet from rain to when it gets
dry because the trees have pumped a lot of water out.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Exactly. Skip.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
I mean, just like we said the sidewalk that can
be lifted up, it's a very very rare circumstance where
a tree is causing the house to lift up. And
once again, it's all about the moisture or the differential
moisture caused by the root system of the live oak trees.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Well and something and this is speaking from a horticultural standpoint,
but people think of a tree root as being a
mirror image on the top and the bottom. So and
you see this on tree care company signs. Sometimes it's
like the tree is going up and you got this
rounded top tree, and then underground you've got a like
a mirror image of roots that make you know, are
(16:07):
like a big bowl shaped that go down as deep
as they do wide and so on and reality is
tree roots are almost all the ninety top foot of soil.
It could be less than that. In some of our
clay soils. There are roots that go deeper, but most
of the tree roots are in the top and they
can go. I know, back when I was learning about
(16:32):
fruit and nut development and my master's were they took
pecan trees and washed out roots to follow how far
does this root go? And they went out two and
a half times the height of a pecan tree. Now,
now that's in good soil, but that is a long
way out there. So people say, well, how close to
(16:52):
the house can I plant a tree? Well, it's more
of a question that do you want limbs rubbing the
roof and you know, hitting the eve and stuff, Because
if you put it ten feet away versus fifty feet away,
roots are going to go find that nice moist soil
where the rain comes off the roof every time and
soaks the soil, and they're going to develop there and
they're gonna pump that soil dry. So the distance from
(17:16):
a soil drying standpoint is really not that significant. So
I guess what I'm trying to say is, if there's
a tree in your yard, or your neighbor's yard. You
probably got roots around your foundation from that tree.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
You know.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
That was actually a question I had for you skip.
You know the seminars I've been to, I kind of
look at it and say, oak trees, tree west one
and a half times the canopy.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Is that a fair assessment or order? Is it much more?
Is it double the canopy?
Speaker 4 (17:51):
It can be.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
There's been some good work done in Florida by a
name men named ed Gilman over the years, and they
even have you can see a little charred of like
an elm tree, a maple tree or whatever. And those
are generalized, and of course you got to allow for
the climate and for the type of soil and so on.
But I would say twice the twice the height is common.
(18:12):
I've seen some trees that they'll say it goes over
three times, but I think that's an unusual case. The
bottom line is your neighbor two houses down may well
probably has roots over near your foundation. And wherever trees
find water, where roots find water, that's where they proliferate.
You know, it's like, okay, this is dependable when they
(18:32):
build their root system in moist soil areas and so
it's a wonder we don't have more problems than we do.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
No, I totally agree with that skip, But like I said,
I was just you know, generalizing whenever I look at
it and talk to a consumer or a homeowner and say,
you know, yeah, just because you're trees thirty feet away,
that does not mean that it's not affecting. And it's
underneath your foundation right now, under damn soil.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
You're yeah, you're right, And I've got about thirty seconds
to a really hard break. But I think the impression
is when you see a tree by a sidewalk, the
closer to the sidewalk it is, the more likely it's
going to lift the sidewalk because the roots are biggest
closest to the tree with the foundation. Because of what
you've just talked about drying the soil out, the tree
(19:27):
doesn't have to be that close to have the same effect.
So I'm gonna take a little break here. Ty, this
is great, Thanks so much. We're talking to Ty Strickland
from Fix my Slab Foundation Repair. We're going to take
a break here for the news, and then we're going
to come back and talk to Bob in Cyprus, who
has a question about superhoses around the foundation.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
Tye right back.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Hey, welcome back to Guardenline. Glad to have you with
us this morning. Let's see, we're gonna I'm gonna get
you to connect me.
Speaker 4 (19:57):
Here with Tie and our caller as well.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
Ty.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
We have a we have a question from Bob and Cyprus,
and we're going to make this connection across from you
to Bob. If I can do that myself, Nope, I'm
gonna believe I'm gonna have to have somebody to do
that for me.
Speaker 4 (20:16):
Wait just one.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Second while I'm while I'm waiting on that, Alejandro, if
you can make that connection please. We've been talking with
Ty Strickland from Fix my Slab Foundation Repair, Fix My
Slab Foundation Repair. You've heard me talk about them all
the time. They One of the things I appreciate about
Ty in this company is they have a work ethic
(20:38):
that you would want out of any service, any service
person that comes to your house, and that is show
up on time. How many times have you been told, yeah,
set the day aside, I don't know when we'll show up,
just sit at your house and we may or may not.
They show up when they say they're going to show up,
they fix it for a reasonable price, and they fix
(20:59):
it right.
Speaker 4 (21:01):
Now.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Let's see, I'm still not able to connect the callers here, Tyre,
are you there?
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Yeah, I am skipped. Would you like to talk a
little bit about socer hoses? Maybe we can answer your
colors question.
Speaker 4 (21:18):
Actually we got Bob on now. Thank you. Bob. Go
ahead and ask your question for Tie please.
Speaker 5 (21:25):
Hey, ty I have some of the symptoms in my
house that you explained in the opening segment, expansion joints
opening and closing back up, and a crack tile in
the house and hairline cracks and sheet rock.
Speaker 6 (21:49):
Almost invisible. But I'll put a socer hose around the
foundation and right now I've got it set at twelve
inches How close do you recommend those soaker hosts be
to a foundation?
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Eighteen inches away is what I think is optimum?
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Okay?
Speaker 6 (22:12):
And another question after a foundation repair is there should
I expect damage to sheet rock and paint inside the
house it's going to have to be fixed, yes and no.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
There's a couple of ways to answer that. If the repairs,
if there's been repairs to the sheet rock that was
caused by foundation droppage, or sinkage when we lift up,
those are probably going to protrude outward because you fill
the void that we're trying to close.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
By lifting your house.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
But each house is different, even after twenty five years.
I can't tell you exactly what's going to happen with
every single house until we start lifting and putting pressure
on it. But I guess what I would tell you
is that you know this is a structural repair versus
a cosmetic repair, and.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
If you have that distinction, you know.
Speaker 3 (23:16):
You know which one do you want to handle the
structural with my opinion?
Speaker 7 (23:20):
Uh huh?
Speaker 6 (23:21):
And does does foundation repair affect the roof?
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Certainly if some always get the foundation first done before
you do a roof, because what we're actually doing when
the foundation settles, the wall is actually rolling outward or
in the direction of the settlement. That's why your expansion
joint is opening at the top. So, for instance, somebody
has foundation issues, they put a new roof in and
(23:51):
we go lift the house back up. It has the
possibility of crinkling the roof just because the wall's rolling in.
But without a new roof, no, you're not typically going
to have any type of roofs of issues. We're just
kind of pushing the house back towards its original position.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Okay, sir, thank you, thank you. Bob.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
All right, hey, Bob, thanks appreciate that call. Good questions
time about that. Now, let's talk about socer hoses a
little bit. You made a statement early on that it
is very difficult to keep even so moisture around the house,
and a socer hose may help. I mean, it's not
going to necessarily fix every problem you have, but you
(24:38):
suggested about eighteen inches away. Any other information about socer hoses,
like how often do you run them? Or is there
any other advice you would give somebody who is wanting
to try to slow that movement down a little bit.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
Yeah, so let's skip like we talked about it.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
This isn't an ABC deal, but because every every weather
pattern is a little bit different. But I guess in
the grand scheme of things, what I tell people is
you're trying to maintain that moisture content that you have
coming out of a normal spring pattern as far as
not of rainfall.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
The biggest thing is if.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
You wait till we get into drought, you're never gonna
catch up. So as we come into June and not.
This year obviously been extremely wet. But in a normal June,
we start to get a little dry, use your soca
hose one day a week for twenty twenty five minutes.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
We get into August and a.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Little hotter, drier now two to three times a week,
and then if we get really really drought, you're you're
doing it three or four times a week for twenty
five minutes at a time, and once again you're trying
to just maintain the moisture content. And what people don't
think about it, Well, I have an irrigation system. Well
that's that's great, But in the middle of the summer,
(26:01):
you may get four to six inches of penetration with
your sprinkler system, and evaporation takes place in the bottom
of your concrete footing or your perimeter of your slab
is thirty six inches deep, so you're really not getting
it down where it needs to be to maintain that soil.
Speaker 4 (26:21):
Okay, that's really good information.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Now, having said that, when you put a soaker hose anywhere,
you're going to get development of roots underground as a
result of dependable moisture. I think that you guys may
offer some services as far as dealing with the roots themselves.
Speaker 4 (26:39):
Would you like to.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Talk a little bit about what can be done and
what you're able to do from a company standpoint.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
Absolutely, There's a product that we use and I've used
it for years.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
It's called bio barrier.
Speaker 3 (26:54):
And essentially we can dig a trench down and put
in this material and it has a herbst side.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
And you can you know a lot more than I do.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
About this, but in order for your roots to expand,
the cells have to divide. So this herbicide essentially prevents
the cell division. And you can strategically put in bio
barrier to keep the roots from growing underneath your house
very simply, and that certainly can help. That product comes
(27:25):
with a manufacturer's warranty of fifteen years against root intrusion
past your barrier. But in the grand scheme of things,
skip that's a maintenance issue. And you know the rule
of thumb in Houston for foundation repair, it's not if,
it's when, So there's just not a one solution against
not having to have foundation repair unfortunately.
Speaker 4 (27:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Yeah, well that's that's interesting. And how deep do you
put those barriers? When you put them in?
Speaker 3 (27:54):
Roughly, they make several different depths there anywhere from nineteen
inches to thirty five inches, I believe.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Okay, all right, Well, one thing it does in the trenching,
you're cutting all the roots that are going from the
from the trench toward the house.
Speaker 4 (28:14):
You know, you're removing those, so.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
Yeah, but there's a there's also a leeching effect with
the herbicide that you know goes down deeper.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
I believe.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Oh okay, all right, well, good, well, this is good.
We're pick this is helpful.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Ty.
Speaker 4 (28:34):
I appreciate you being here. I hope.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
I know the listeners are enjoying learning about this because
there's there's a lot more to it than we thought,
and we're learning about that. We're going to take a
quick break for our come back for our last segment,
and we got Mel and Carmine that's got a question
about small cracks in the slab. When we come back,
we'll be right back, folks. Well, welcome back, folks, Welcome
(28:56):
back to garden Line. We are visiting with Tys Strickland
from fixing my slab foundation repair and learning a lot
about what causes foundation problems, things we can do to
help slow it down at least alleviate it or if
you will prevent it as best we can, and then
of course how the process is of getting it fixed
(29:17):
when it's needed. And I just think this is really
good getting good response from listeners on this topic. Today,
we're going to go now out to Carmine if Alejandro,
if you can connect us to Mel. Mel's got a
question about hairline cracks in the slab for time. Hey Mel,
welcome to garden Line.
Speaker 8 (29:38):
Oh thank you so much guys for having this program
on today. A big fan and love it. I just
had a question about I have about a five year
old house and it's I guess you'd call it a
floating slab that the house sits on, and the portions
of my house towards the mental I have these hairline
(30:01):
cracks in the mike patio slab outside and then the tiles,
the ceramic tiles in the house have gotten hairline cracks
in the floor. And the company came out and tested it.
You know, there's some kind of machine in here to
look at how the difference in the height, and I
(30:22):
just didn't know if there's anything more I need to do.
They said it's fine, it's normal settling. But to me,
it's unsettling to see the cracks, especially in your tile.
Speaker 3 (30:33):
Yeah, you know the tile cracks. First, I'll let me
back up. All concrete is gonna crack. I mean, it
could be as simple as you're gonna get hairline cracks
if the wind picked up during the poor So just
because you have some hairline cracks in your any type
of concrete, that is definitely not a failure.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
I know.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
It's unsettling when you see the cracking in the tile,
and typically if you're starting to see it only a
house five years old, Remember you do have a ten
years builder's warranty, so it is very important to stay
on top of it and get some baseline readings where
your house is now so you can do it again
(31:14):
before the ten year warranty ends. But most of the
hairline cracks are going to be in relation to your
exterior expansion joints, and sometimes it'll go straight across your house,
and that's just kind of the beginning signs of possible
foundation problems. And that expansion joint is doing its job.
(31:34):
It's essentially creating a hinge point and it cracks across
the tile sometimes unfortunately, but you really until you start
seeing door sticking diagonal cracks off of your doorframes that
would be perpendicular to that exterior wall is really when
you need to start being a little more concerned.
Speaker 8 (31:56):
All right, well, great, that's very reassuring, man, Thank you
very much. And you know, we planted, uh, flower beds and.
Speaker 7 (32:03):
Stuff around the house to try, you know, to make
the landscape me pretty, but we did not put any
really big plants because we're afraid that that was going
to cause the moisture. And I do have a soaker
hose system around it, but I'm not quite sure how
often you run it and for how long, because there's.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
No way to tell.
Speaker 7 (32:26):
If the you know, waters up underneath a slab.
Speaker 2 (32:30):
Yeah, and then that's what I mentioned. That's what I
mentioned earlier.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
I think in the last in the last segment is
is uh, it's very it's very difficult to maintain equal moisture.
But it's all about trying to maintain it and and
not trying to catch up. And and I wouldn't worry
too much about the plants and shrubbery around your house.
That's that's really not pun intended. The root calls it's
(32:57):
it's typically the oak trees or trees uh, in close
proximity to the house.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Hey, Mel, thank you very much. I appreciate appreciate that, appreciate.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Your appreciate all your health.
Speaker 4 (33:11):
Good all right, all right bye bye.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
Uh So, ty got we're running short here, but I
got a couple of questions I want to I want
to ask you about. First of all, what area do
you guys service forfect my slab foundation repair? Like we
got listeners all the way down in Corpus and the
Louisiana border in Huntsville.
Speaker 4 (33:32):
So how far do you go?
Speaker 3 (33:35):
Yes, yes, and yes skip if they can hear us
on self, really, if they can hear us on seven forty,
which as you know, is a fifty thousand.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
Watt channel, yes, i'll go.
Speaker 3 (33:48):
Yeah. If if you've got a problem, all right, I'll
be glad to come take a look at it. And
you know, for your guardline listeners request when you call
the office and request personal that I come out, I'll
be glad to do that.
Speaker 4 (34:04):
Well, that's a generous offer. I appreciate that tie a lot.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
I know with you know, I would have you been
doing this like almost twenty five years now?
Speaker 3 (34:14):
Well, yeah, every morning I look in the mirror and
more and more gray. But yeah, I'm pushing twenty five
plus now, and you know, I think besides that, Skip,
you know, I think more importantly that fix my slaves
in business for fifteen years, and you know they talk
(34:34):
about five years is you know when you get over
the mark. I don't know about that, but I can
tell you that we are deeply concerned with the taking
care of homeowners and more importantly fixing their homes.
Speaker 4 (34:48):
Well.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
I appreciate that, and I know that's true. I when
I have a sponsor on guarden Line, it's someone whoever
either used which I say, fortunately for me, I've not
had to use you, but are someone that just the reputation,
the work, the quality, the perspective on taking care of
customers and how you go about doing business has got
(35:10):
to be good. And that's not at all a question
with you guys.
Speaker 4 (35:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
The other question that I had is I would like
you to explain to folks how you repair a driveway.
I just find this to be fascinating. You know, it
could be heaving or tilting or cracked or something. What
is the process of going in and fixing that?
Speaker 3 (35:31):
So Skip, that whole industry has changed a little bit.
Used to people didn't worry about their trip hazards that much,
but it's gotten down to the point now that insurance
companies are requiring that you get rid of your trip
hazards before they'll renew your homeowner's insurance policy. But very simply,
what we're doing is we're going in strategically drilling holes
(35:55):
in the areas that we're trying to adjust, and we
are pumping at sementitious out into that. And Number one,
first thing we when we pump is that we're filling
any voids and then once we fill those voids, we
essentially build up pressure and we can lift the individual
sections of the driveway and lift them back up to
(36:17):
get rid of that trip hazard.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
So number one, nobody trips over.
Speaker 3 (36:23):
But number two that it's back to looking correct.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
But it's you know, after twenty five years.
Speaker 3 (36:31):
I look at it as a very simple process, and
I know, maybe overwhelming whether it's your foundation.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
Or or your driveway.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Or sidewalk, but it's a relatively easy process. And if
you catch that stuff early, like I said earlier, that
lifting your driveway is thirty percent the cost of replacing it,
So you know, get on a quick and you know
we're going out of there in a couple of hours
and we can we can get rid of your trip
hazards pretty easy. And if if not, if it's too far,
(37:00):
I pour a lot of new driveways and sidewalks as well.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
All right, well, it sounds like if it's concrete, you
do it well. Ty has been great. I know we
could keep going on questions. It's obvious you know your business,
you know how to do things. I love your perspective
on how you go about business and stuff. Thank you
so much for being on today. I know we had
a lot of interest in our listeners because everybody has
(37:27):
got a house as a foundation, and pretty much everybody's
got a tree. Thank you so much, sir. I wish
our time was longer, but we're going to say goodbye
and wish you well.
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