View a Root Barricade Installation Below

There are many causes for concrete slab foundation problems including outside drainage problems, moisture fluctuations in the underlying clay soils, tree roots, and plumbing and sewer line leaks. However, in our experience, one of the biggest single causes is differential settlement due to large trees. When they extract large amounts of water from the clay soils the clay soils will shrink in volume – sometimes dramatically. Large trees like Oak, Arizona Ash and Chinese Tallow have extensive tap root systems that extract large amounts of water from the soil, which can cause major damage and require home foundation repair. The simplest and easiest way to combat this water withdrawal is with root barricades.

These large trees remove disproportionate amounts of moisture from soils under and adjacent to foundations. That is, a large tree on one side of your house will cause your home foundation to settle in the area the tree is located. That side will tend to settle due to moisture loss while the other sides of the house do not. The result is that the soil in this area will shrink (due to moisture loss) and separate from the bottom of the foundation. This area of shrinkage creates a void and when the area of the void becomes too large the concrete foundation will collapse to find its support, causing one or more cracks in the home foundation.

If a tree is very close to your home then the solution is to remove the tree to avoid a home foundation repair job. If the tree is further away from the home foundation (20 to 30 feet), we can install root barricades three to five feet from the exterior walls of your home. The root barricade will prevent tree roots from removing moisture from the soil that is in the immediate vicinity of the home’s foundation.

Installation of root barricades requires trenching and installing polyethylene sheets to a depth of 36″ inches. This will prevent tree roots from growing past the root barricade.

In our opinion, root barricades can be helpful in preventing interior settlement problems, but will be limited in preventing exterior settlement. That is, they can help prevent the need for interior piers but not exterior piers if the tree is close to the house.

Much of our barricade installation is done by our sister company, Dawson Root Barriers. Please visit the website for more information.

More helpful information can be found at FREE foundation maintenance tips.

Other Related Foundation Repair Services

	Foundation Repair We install Bell Bottom Piers – a proven and permanent foundation repair and house leveling solution.		Root Barricades We can install a root barricade three to five feet from the exterior walls of your home.
	Engineering Information We have engineering reports, studies, and opinions from independent Structural Engineers.		Under Slab Excavation We offer trenching and tunnelling services for your plumber.

Call or contact us online today to discuss any of our services in more detail or to arrange a Foundation Inspection.