Soil in general can have contributions to concrete failure all around your home. If you’re having issues with your home’s soil, you’re much more likely to also have concrete failure problems that require slab lifting. There are many ways the soil can contribute to concrete failure.
Problems with Initial Construction
When a construction crew pours concrete initially, they have to compact the soil. By compacting the soil, they’re able to ensure that there’s a stable foundation for the concrete. If the construction crew doesn’t compact the soil enough or makes a mistake in the compacting process, the weight of the concrete and anything on top of it might compress the soil, causing concrete settling.
It’s also important that the initial construction pour doesn’t occur when the soil underneath the concrete is wet. Soil expands when it’s wet, even if it’s not an expansive soil. That means the soil will shrink once it dries out, which can lead to an issue with concrete stability, especially since it’s impossible to determine exactly how the soil will shrink.
Erosion from Rain
Rain tends to cause all sorts of problems for concrete, especially external concrete. One of the biggest problems that rain can cause for concrete is erosion. When floods move across the soil, there’s a huge chance that they’ll take pieces of the soil with them, even if the soil has proper compacting. That can lead to concrete failure, especially over a long period. Soil erosion is a big problem for most types of soil. However, it can be an especially serious problem for certain soil types. Expansive soils tend to have a hard time with erosion, and how they expand can allow for the soil particles to move away from the rest of the soil more easily. If you live in a rain-prone area, you might want to talk to an expert about fixing this problem.