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Old 10-31-2023, 10:06 PM
 
6 posts, read 6,211 times
Reputation: 51

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I live in the Dallas area, and almost everywhere in the metroplex has clay soils that wreak havoc on our slab foundations. I've heard that it's somewhat similar in the other metros in the "Texas Triangle" (Austin/Houston/San Antonio).

When I told a co-worker once that we had to "water our foundations" in Dallas, he looked at me like I had three heads and asked, "why, does it grow?". Of course he's up in Seattle, so that response wasn't unexpected.

With El Paso being more of a desert area, are the soils there more solid and/or rocky and less clay-based, and do people not have to deal with these kinds of issues?
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Old 11-03-2023, 07:41 PM
 
Location: San Antonio / Austin, Texas
10 posts, read 3,611 times
Reputation: 26
I live just north of San Antonio now but I used to live in El Paso. I can tell you that just like the climate, the soil types in El Paso are completely different compared to Dallas, SA, or Houston. El Paso is a desert with less than 11 inches of rain per year. The Golden Triangle can be dry some years with harsh droughts, but it is far from a desert.

I watered my foundation here in SA religiously all summer long and still had some minor issues. We had the hottest summer ever on record (130 years) here in SA. There are 3-4 inch wide cracks running down the middle of some streets here. Water pipes have been bursting because of the soil compressing and moving. It's been crazy!

El Paso soils are much more gravely and stony, they are not clay based. Foundations in El Paso tend to not have issues due to soil shifting and compression which is common in the Golden Triangle.However, that isn't to say that El Paso homes are completely free of foundation problems. An improperly installed foundation can fail over time in any kind of soil. Also, the housing stock in El Paso is rather old. So if you are looking to buy an older home make sure that you have a specialist check out the foundation.

If you have any more questions about El Paso vs. The Golden Triangle, let me know. I have lived and worked in El Paso, Austin, and San Antonio. I'm actually considering moving back to El Paso for a much cheaper and simpler way of life, and less traffic!
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Old 12-31-2023, 06:49 PM
 
6 posts, read 2,368 times
Reputation: 21
Quote:
Originally Posted by PorkBBQ View Post
I live just north of San Antonio now but I used to live in El Paso. I can tell you that just like the climate, the soil types in El Paso are completely different compared to Dallas, SA, or Houston. El Paso is a desert with less than 11 inches of rain per year. The Golden Triangle can be dry some years with harsh droughts, but it is far from a desert.

I watered my foundation here in SA religiously all summer long and still had some minor issues. We had the hottest summer ever on record (130 years) here in SA. There are 3-4 inch wide cracks running down the middle of some streets here. Water pipes have been bursting because of the soil compressing and moving. It's been crazy!

El Paso soils are much more gravely and stony, they are not clay based. Foundations in El Paso tend to not have issues due to soil shifting and compression which is common in the Golden Triangle.However, that isn't to say that El Paso homes are completely free of foundation problems. An improperly installed foundation can fail over time in any kind of soil. Also, the housing stock in El Paso is rather old. So if you are looking to buy an older home make sure that you have a specialist check out the foundation.

If you have any more questions about El Paso vs. The Golden Triangle, let me know. I have lived and worked in El Paso, Austin, and San Antonio. I'm actually considering moving back to El Paso for a much cheaper and simpler way of life, and less traffic!


you will receive so much traffic here in el paso that you will leave again.
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Old 01-04-2024, 02:30 PM
 
125 posts, read 191,141 times
Reputation: 241
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tr4pst4rs View Post
you will receive so much traffic here in el paso that you will leave again.
Compared to Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston? LOL
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Old 03-28-2024, 02:05 PM
 
1,943 posts, read 2,296,095 times
Reputation: 1800
Default yesw

i had a crack in mine but it had no basement so i was ok
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