Why are there big soil gaps around my foundation?
Clay soil shrinks and pulls away from foundations during hot weather, creating large hand-sized gaps that can lead to structural shifting and cracked tiles inside the home. Homeowners are left uncertain whether to immediately fill these trenches with soil or sand, or wait until the ground stops moving before attempting a fix.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1installing drip-lines around the foundation
- 2watering the soil around the house rather than filling the cracks directly
- 3backfilling along the driveway
- 4using a soaker hose to wet the soil
- 5consulting a civil engineer or foundation repair company
- 6manually installing soaker hoses to water the foundation
- 7running soaker hoses around the entire foundation low and slow with a pressure gauge
- 8adding dirt later in fall or winter
- 9filling in the hole with backfill or spray foam
- 10checking for cleanouts or animal activity
- 11getting the line smoke tested
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“However, I just noticed a gap that seems larger than what I would consider normal—the opening is about the size of my hand.”source ↗
“What should I do about it? Should I fill it back in with sand or soil? Or should I leave it alone until the soil stops shrinking and then fill it?”source ↗
“Can anyone advise me on what I should do with this gap?”source ↗
“I noticed this happening to my home. Tile started cracking in our home. Small hairline cracks across 6 tiles . How do I fix this?”source ↗
“The concrete slab patio is sinking on the east side. Also seeing some dirt/soil contraction from the foundation.”source ↗
“it is worrying me being a relatively new homeowner.”source ↗
“Has anyone else experienced this and what did you do to fix it?”source ↗
“We do have down sprouts that are underground but not on that side of the house.”source ↗
“I was cutting my grass and seen the hole”source ↗
“We are on a slab.”source ↗
“yeah after I did it I was saying to myself that probably wasn’t the best idea lol”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4How to fill a wide gap between garage floor and driveway
- 2Sinkhole appeared in my yard near the house
- 12How to fix concrete cracks near garage foundation
- 8Why do foundation repairs cost so much more than quoted?
- 3How to permanently seal an animal burrow near a foundation
- 9How to stop heavy rain from eroding yard and fence