There are several culprits for the high rate of foundation issues in Spring. We’ll talk about each of these briefly below and describe how each can affect your home’s stability and structural integrity.
Expansive Soil
Expansive soil is one of the most significant issues for homeowners in Southern Texas. Spring is built on soil that has an abundance of clay particles.
In fact, the most prevalent soil in the city is called Houston Black, which is infamous for its high rate of expansion, absorption, and shrinking. The clay soil in Spring creates several problems for concrete foundations.
The most significant damage caused by the clay-rich soil in Spring is due to its ability to expand when it gets wet. Clay particles are tiny, so they offer plenty of space for water to soak in between them and may the ground more voluminous.
As the earth swells, it pushes up against your home’s foundation walls and slab with immense force, often enough to crack the concrete and cripple the foundation’s structural integrity.
Saturated clay soil is tremendously dangerous for foundations, but it can lead to additional problems when it dries. Expansive soil shrinks quite a bit when the water it absorbs drains or evaporates. Your concrete foundation relies on the earth for support, so it naturally settles with the ground as it dries and loses volume.
Settling is common, but the real issue in Spring arises when the soil dries at varying rates around your home. This can lead to differential settling, which causes only portions of your foundation to sink into the earth.
The concrete can only flex so much as the ground underneath shrinks, so differential settling can cause large sections of foundation to crack away from your home and sink more rapidly, leaving your home structurally compromised.
Lastly, the tiny pores between the clay particles make the soil in Spring abnormally absorbent, and it retains water for longer periods than the sandy and silty dirt typical in other areas.
The ground can hold water for days or weeks after rainfall, giving moisture ample opportunity to seep through your concrete and into your under-home area. As such, water damage and moisture accumulation are prevalent problems for homeowners in the Spring area.

Wet Season
Rainfall in any concentration makes the issues with expansive soil more severe. Spring receives an average of around 49 inches of rain annually, which is about 50% higher than the national average. The precipitation is heaviest from April to May during the wet season.
To make matters worse, the city experiences concentrated rainfall between June and November during hurricane season.
The above-average rainfall means the ground gets saturated regularly and expands to its maximum volume, increasing the damaging pressure on your concrete.
Concentrated rain in the spring and summer also adds to the risk of water and moisture issues in your crawlspace or basement, as it leaves your foundation exposed to water for longer periods.
Frequent Drought
Despite the above-average rainfall that is common throughout the year, drought is another natural phenomenon with which the residents of Spring have to contend regularly. The Spring and Houston areas are considered abnormally dry and at moderate risk of drought.
Drought in Texas can last for weeks or even months at a time, allowing the ground around your home to dry completely and shrink. As the moisture content of the soil is depleted, the problems with differential settling become significant.
Additionally, the cyclical nature of the soil’s moisture content between the wet season and frequent drought creates rapid swelling and shrinking that make structural damage a severe risk.
Housing Boom
Lastly, Spring has undergone significant development over the past decade or so, as more and more people relocate to suburban areas near populated southern cities like Houston, Austin, The Woodlands, and San Antonio.
Unfortunately, some builders in the area cut corners during construction in an effort to keep up with the high demand for new housing.
Many homes are built on soil that is improperly excavated, back-filled, and compacted, leaving them at a higher risk of differential settling, the adverse effects of hydrostatic pressure, and water and moisture problems.
