The word “hydro” means water and “static” is a synonym for still or steady. The term hydrostatic pressure perfectly illustrates the effects still groundwater has on your foundation and why it is so important to keep an eye out for it.
Hydrostatic pressure is something you might not know you need to watch out for as a homeowner, but once you know about it, you’ll be more vigilant. It’s the kind of problem that many don’t think about until it affects their foundation significantly. Knowing what it is and what it does to your basement walls will allow you to understand why your walls are bowing and what the correct action to take is.
What It Is
The soil underneath your home isn’t completely dry, even if the topsoil on your lawn is. The ground below is almost always saturated with water, especially in places like Knoxville and Nashville, TN and Huntsville, AL, which have clay soils. Clay soils are able to retain water very well. Other places, like Chattanooga, TN and Mobile, AL, have sandy loam soils, which drain incredibly well, so hydrostatic pressure isn’t a big concern in these areas unless the yard drainage is especially terrible.
When groundwater begins to flow towards your home, it stops once it means resistance in the form of your basement wall. It accumulates against the wall and the weight of the water begins to put pressure on the wall. No matter how tough a concrete wall is, it will begin to bow inwards once that pressure becomes too much. In the simplest terms, hydrostatic pressure is the weight of water against a basement wall.
What Hydrostatic Pressure Does to Your Foundation
Hydrostatic pressure is a serious threat to your entire home. Even though its effects are mostly seen in the basement, it does affect the structure of the entire house. As the basement wall bends inwards due to the pressure of the accumulated groundwater, it begins to crack. The cracks allow the water to seep through the concrete and infiltrate your basement. Flooding is most common in the wall-floor joint, which is where you’ll see most of the water come from.
Your basement wall is a part of your home’s foundation. The second a foundation begins to have structural problems; the effects will be felt elsewhere. You might notice your floor begin to sink closer to the wall. Any columns that relied on the walls to support the ground floor will begin to fail, which means that the walls above will also experience issues with cracking, bending, and breaking.