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Health & Fitness

Homes That Sink and Slide

Home maintenance, soils and water

   Did you see the article about the homes in northern California that are sinking? Experts don’t know whether it is caused by a change in an underground water patterns or possibly caused by thermal activity in the area. I thought that it was only in Florida that the earth consumed houses.   I was speaking to a home owner today that reminded me that water is not the homeowner’s friend. Except of course the kind you drink which we get from the Owens River or the Colorado River.  The homeowner was telling me about small cracks in the drywall that have recently begun to show up. Even though I do have a minor in Geology, I do not pretend to give advice on geology. I asked my friend if he is seeing any large cracks in the back yard, patio or slope behind the home. The answer was no.    All homes flex and settle and some homes seem to have a flex point that produces a drywall crack now and then. We continued discussing the maintenance and condition of his home which is now about twenty-five years old and should be
settled by now. We came up with the fact that his gutters were blocked with
leaves and one of his downspouts had come loose so the water was dumping next
to the foundation. Having lived in Colorado for some time where there is an
abundance of Bentonite clay formations I have seen homes and basement slabs
heaving and cracking like a dry lake bed. I reminded my homeowner friend that
even in our area soils will expand some when they get wet. Maintenance of the
gutters and downspouts is critical. It is warm and dry now so no excuses.    This is just a friendly reminder not to forget to keep that water runoff AWAY from the foundation. Also since there are so many sloped lots with fill in Laguna Niguel and Dana Point we should keep an eye on the slopes and slope maintenance. I am aware of one home in the Pamilla Tract that actually had an underground river or spring that served up a continual flow of water right up against the side of the home. The engineered solution in that case was a catch basin and sump pump.    Keep in mind that earth movement and slides are NOT covered by homeowners insurance. Ron Buck, Realtor®
Ron Buck has been a real estate broker for 16 years
with over 450 successfully completed transactions.
He is a 11-year resident of Laguna Niguel and is an expert in south Orange County real estate. You can contact him at Ron@JonRonRealEstate.com or 949.456.0505.

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