HOUSTON – One of the worst droughts in Texas history is striking at its very foundation.
The drought has led to extremely dry soil, which is causing trouble around Houston-area houses.
Repair crews could be seen in Richmond Friday working on a house.
“What we're seeing is an early jump in calls. Typically, we'll see this happen around August, but because of how hot and dry we are already, our calls have more than doubled,” said Mike DeShazer, with Olshan Foundation Solutions.
One by one pilings were strung on a cable and driven into the ground as deep as they could go, until the house could be leveled.
The issue is what's known as gumbo clay, and it is found under a lot of homes in the Houston area. Think of it as a sponge, when it's dry it shrinks, and when it's wet it expands.
But even when the rain comes back, if your foundation is damaged, problems linger.
“It's like a piece of elastic, you can stretch it and stretch it and stretch it and, at some point, it doesn't come back,” he said.
