Water restrictions may help cause unwanted settling.

By Dana Olmes

As you are likely aware, recent water usage restrictions are now in effect that significantly reduce our ability to water our home’s landscape.  However, there may be a hidden downside to under watering your yard.

Landscaping adjacent to a house that is used to getting a regular amount of water possesses a more or less static moisture level. This ambient moisture tends to keep the soil from drying, which in some types of soil, could result in soil contracting away from the foundation. Greatly reducing or eliminating the watering near a homes foundation, may result in the foundation walls actually shifting to the newly created space.

Tom Pelletier, owner of The Foundation Works, typically inspects several foundations a day in various parts of Los Angeles County.  Over past weeks, he claims there has been a distinct rise in the number of calls he has received from homeowners indicating that strange things have suddenly started to happen in their homes. Things such as cracks in walls, sticking doors, floor seams showing separation, etc.  Some of these issues may simply be normal settling of a structure, but some may be the result of your new watering schedule.

Tom recommends that we do not ignore the mandated water restrictions; but recommends that you alter your watering schedule to ensure that the landscaping closest to the house gets close to its “previously normal” amount of water. You may restrict watering areas that are further from the house, thus lessening the effects of soil shrinkage on the foundation.

Specific recommendations can be found at www.bewaterwise.com

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