With commercial buildings constructed from durable materials like concrete, steel, and brick, it’s easy to assume summer heat isn’t much of a concern. However, hot summer conditions can directly affect the foundation supporting your commercial building. This can cause serious damage that may require thousands of dollars to repair or even temporarily shut down your operation.
Explore how heat waves and drought can damage your commercial building foundation. We’ll help you watch for signs of damage and prevent further issues by sharing tips for maintaining soil stability in the summer.
How Extreme Heat Affects Soil Moisture Levels
Average summer conditions may not affect the soil around your commercial structure. If your initial contractor took the time to verify soil conditions and prepare the drainage grading, you’ll likely find that soil remains stable through the summer. But in extreme heat and drought conditions, a loss of soil moisture can lead to problems.
Why Soil Expansion and Contraction Matter
Stable soil provides the necessary amount of support for your commercial building’s foundation. When soil shrinks, shifts, or erodes due to a lack of moisture during high heat conditions, gaps open up that put the foundation at serious risk.
The Role of Temperature and Drought Conditions
Dry, hot conditions accelerate the evaporation effect, increasing the chances of damaging soil contraction. Regular rainfall hydrates the soil to prevent it from pulling away from the foundation. Even if there’s rain, extreme heat can lead to such rapid evaporation that soil also erodes from the foundation and footings and reduces support.
Why Commercial Foundations Are Particularly Vulnerable to Heat
The size and weight of commercial buildings put more strain on the foundation than a residential home. That means that even a slight loss of support from the soil leads to thousands of pounds of force shifting onto the foundation walls. Even a few days of high heat could lead to sudden foundation cracks or settling.
Common Foundation Problems Caused or Worsened by Summer Heat
If your foundation is already damaged, summer heat could worsen the settlement or cracking issues. But even if you have a strong and healthy commercial foundation, a prolonged heat wave or drought could cause the following problems.
Foundation Settlement
Due to soil compaction and shrinking, commercial foundations often settle during heat waves and hot summers. This leads to cracks in concrete and masonry, uneven support for the structure, and the potential for more severe damage like bowed walls and structural collapses.
Soil Shrinkage Around the Footers
It’s not just the foundation or basement walls of your commercial building that need support from the surrounding soil. The footers of your foundation can crack or sink if the soil shrinks that deep due to intense heat and long-term drought. You may need piers that go down to bedrock, which won’t shift in the most severe heat, to stabilize your commercial building.
Increased Stress on Foundation Joints and Connections
The joints where concrete slabs connect to foundation walls, or where footers join with the foundations they’re supporting, experience extra stress when soil dries out due to high temperatures. Increasing stress on the most delicate points in the foundation design runs the risk of causing serious structural damage to your commercial building, including uneven settling, partial wall collapse, and frame skewing.
What to Know About Landscaping Irrigation and Soil Moisture
Your efforts to keep the landscaping green around your commercial building may also protect the soil from contraction due to heat and drought. However, it can also wash away dried-out soil to erode pockets around the foundation. It’s important to track the soil conditions around your facility throughout the seasons, tracking minor seasonal movements of soil levels from signs of potentially serious damage.
Warning Signs of Summer-Related Foundation Movement
Watch out for early warning signs that summer heat is damaging your foundation, including:
- Sticking doors and windows
- New or widening cracks in the foundation
- Gaps opening where walls, ceilings, and structural elements meet
- Exterior soil and grade changes
- Uneven and newly sloping floors.
How Commercial Property Owners Can Protect Their Foundations
Taking concrete steps to counteract the damaging effects of prolonged heat and drought can save you thousands of dollars. Use this checklist throughout the summer.
Maintain Consistent Soil Moisture
Water the soil around 14 to 18 inches away from the exterior wall to prevent shrinking and cracking, especially if you have clay soils around your commercial building. These expansive soils hold a lot of water when it falls, then shrink dramatically and cause foundation damage. Watering sandy soils is more likely to cause erosion than prevent shrinking, so it’s less likely to benefit from this kind of irrigation.
Inspect Drainage, Gutters, and Downspouts
Don’t let downspouts become clogged or discharge water too close to the foundation walls, leading to erosion issues. Make sure all drainage is directly away from the structure and towards parts of the landscape that can absorb even the heaviest rainfall. Sudden rain after extreme heat can disturb a surprising amount of otherwise stable soil. Watering can’t undo existing cracking, so consult with a commercial foundation contractor to determine if a drip tape system could work for your clay soil.
Manage Landscaping Near the Foundation
Thirsty plants that need a lot of water through the summer can lead to erosion due to constant irrigation. Plants that provide shade maintain natural water levels in the soil, preventing shrinking in clay soils in particular. Use a mix of native plants and water-conserving additions to create a foundation planting that supports long-term foundation support rather than damaging it with aggressive roots.
Monitor Irrigation During Hot, Dry Weather
Don’t assume that watering around your foundation is always the right choice. If cracks already exist in the soil or you’re dealing with a loose or sandy soil, irrigation could backfire and lead to damage. Getting a professional assessment of your soil conditions is the best way to build a proactive plan for dealing with heat and drought.
Schedule Routine Foundation Inspections
Professional foundation inspections with the help of qualified structural engineers can catch early warning signs of damage and help you choose a method for preventing soil movement during hot summer days. Get your commercial foundation inspected at least twice a year, preferably at the beginning of summer and winter.
Frequently Asked Questions About Summer Heat and Commercial Foundations
Can extreme heat cause foundation cracks?
Yes, especially if the heat lasts for weeks or is accompanied by drought.
How does clay soil affect commercial foundations in summer?
Clay soil tends to swell when it’s rainy, then shrink dramatically during dry and hot summer days. This can damage commercial foundations of all styles.
Can watering around a foundation prevent damage?
In some cases, limited watering can prevent soil from shrinking and cracking. It’s best to apply this method only with professional guidance.
Protect Your Commercial Building Foundation Before Problems Escalate
While heat won’t directly damage the concrete making up your commercial building foundation, it can shrink the soil around it and therefore leave it without proper support. Controlling soil movement and erosion is a constant struggle during a hot summer. Schedule your inspection from Pinnacle Foundation Repair today to determine the right course of action for your commercial building.
