Water pooling next to the house
Why water lingers here
Corpus Christi's mainland is nearly flat and much of it sits on Victoria clay. The Natural Resources Conservation Service describes that soil as very slowly permeable, on slopes that are mostly under one percent. Rain has nowhere to run and soaks in slowly, so a low spot beside a house can hold water long after the street has dried.
Small things make it worse: a flower bed edged so that it forms a basin against the slab, a downspout ending at the wall, soil that has settled along a utility trench, or an air conditioner drain dripping in one place all summer.
How it affects the foundation
Wet clay expands; parched clay contracts. A slab can ride that movement when the moisture around it is even. It suffers when one side is soaked and the other baked, because one part of the house is pushed up while another is let down.
On a pier and beam house, water that runs under the floor softens the ground around the pier pads and keeps the timber damp. Persistent damp below a wood floor leads to rot long before it leads to settlement.
Who to call for what
Foundation repair is one trade among several that deal with water around a house.
- Grading and drains
- Reshaping the soil so it falls away from the house, adding a surface drain or extending downspouts is work for a drainage or landscape contractor. Some foundation companies do it as part of a repair.
- A leak in a pipe
- Soggy ground during a dry fortnight, or a utility bill climbing for no reason: book a licensed plumber.
- Water indoors
- Storm water or a split pipe soaking carpets and drywall belongs to a restoration firm, and speed counts.
- Below-ground walls
- Basement waterproofing is its own trade. Most houses in this area have no basement, so it rarely applies.
- Cracks, slopes, sticking doors
- Ponding alongside evidence of structural movement tips the matter over to a foundation repair firm.
What you can do this week
Next downpour, put on a raincoat and circle the house, tracking the runoff. Note any spot where it runs toward the wall or stands against it. Afterward, check that each downspout carries water several feet out and that soil and mulch have not been built up above the bottom course of brick.
The foundation care guide has more on gutters, grading and watering during drought.
Questions about drainage
Will fixing the drainage fix the cracks I already have?
It can stop them growing if uneven moisture was the cause, and some movement in clay reverses as the soil evens out. It will not lift a section that has already settled onto weak ground. An inspection shows which you have.
Do gutters matter on a single-story house?
They do. A Gulf cloudburst sends a startling volume off even a modest roof. With bare eaves, every drop of it falls right beside the slab. Gutters with extended downspouts move it to where you choose.
Mention ponding alongside fresh cracks or jammed doors so the company can assess the drainage and foundation together.
Call (361) 217-1905Ready for someone to measure the house?
Dial the number and say what you have noticed. A foundation repair firm covering your part of the Coastal Bend answers, books a visit, and afterward sends its report and price under its own name. That firm is a separate business from this website.
Wall, ceiling or floor shifting while you watch? Gas in the air? Get everybody outdoors, then phone 911 or the gas utility.
House foundations only
Call (361) 217-1905Corpus Christi Foundation Repairs refers callers and repairs nothing itself. Calls may be recorded. Details: referral disclosure.