CYPRESS, Texas – Drought conditions in the Houston area are bringing more business to a longtime foundation improvement company.
“Our call volume has almost doubled, and it’s doubled because of the extreme heat,” said general manager of Olshan Foundation Solutions Chris Cates. “The extreme heat causes the ground to shrink and when it shrinks, the home settles in the gap that it creates, and it causes cracks in the brick veneer and in the sheetrock inside.”
Cates said the workload for his crews has doubled in the last month, the busy season hitting about a month earlier than usual. Work is currently booked out for four weeks.
On Friday, Olshan crews worked to repair the foundation at William Wood’s Cypress home.
“Since the drought, that’s when I did come out here and notice the brick separation and hardwood separation,” Wood said.
He jumped at contacting a repair company to avoid the damage getting any worse.
But foundation repairs aren’t covered by the majority of insurance policies, Cates said.
The average cost of a job is about $11,000 – some reach up to $30,000.
“It’s starting to hit the pocketbook – it’s one thing after another, you know especially when you start getting homes a little bit older,” Wood said.
To protect your own home, Cates said it’s important to keep the slab watered.
“Nobody likes to spend money on preventative maintenance, but if you put in a deep watering system, it may help you from the cost of repairs,” Cates said. “Get your soaker hoses. Get to watering. Watering above ground is not as good as watering deep.”
Here’s what to look out for:
- Sticking doors
- Cracks in home
- Separation of window frames
- Soil separation from the foundation
Wood said he will “absolutely” consider taking steps to keep his foundation watered going forward.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 17% of Harris County is currently under “extreme drought” conditions, which means soil may have large cracks.
The dry, shrinking ground is also causing problems with water pipes across Houston.
According to the City of Houston’s Public Works Department, crews have received about 1,300 reports of broken water pipes in the last month.
A spokesperson for the department told KPRC 2 that the problem is aging infrastructure, but the stress of drought conditions are making it worse.