Foundation issue - rainfall

[DeltaCotton12]

I had my foundation worked on middle summer. They jacked the house about an inch and a half. Because of the drought, my house is now dropped by about an inch and a half. I was thinking that as the ground water increased, my house may move back up as the mud swells. Any truth to my thinking?

[novacaine]

How did they jack it.............screws/augers or did they jack against hard ground and pour concrete?

It depends upon what they jacked against and what depth it is located below foundation.

Its hard to really say.................it depends on a few variables.
If your still settling, you may have different issues.
Yazoo clay is a mutha!!!

[DeltaCotton12]

Jacked might of been a bad choice of words. The previous homeowners bought a lifetime transferable warranty on 10 pilings around the back of the property. Only 3 have moved (significantly) in the 6 years the pilings have been there. 3 pilings were worked adjusted in the summer.

[novacaine]

[waterfowlwidowmaker]

I'm going to assume you probably have Structural Solutions or Olshan piles under your home. It sounds to me like you have a shallow pile system that is terminated within the zone of influence, hence the reason it is still moving. Those companies and the other ones like them cannot push the piles deep enough to get below the zone of influence and you will still get some movement in very dry or very wet conditions.

Once the soils heave your house will probably move back up to some degree however overall settlement will continue to occur in the long run.

[novacaine]

[jkmjr]

Both of the above posts are very good info. Since you have the warranty I might consider getting someone (engineer) besides the foundation company to look at it. You would need to have a description of exactly what was originally done. I have several rental properties in the Clinton area and I have spent 10's of thousands of $$$ on foundations on these properties. It is definitely not "ONE SIZE FITS ALL" As novocaine says "YAZOO CLAY IS A MUTHA." Get a second opinion. A few hundred now for an engineer may save you a bundle down the road.

[DeltaCotton12]

Structural Solutions is the company that did the original work. They also came out and did the adjustments.

As far as the engineer, what exactly would he be able to tell me regarding the current installed pilings?

Another poster asked where the pilings were, I've attached a picture to show this. It is the back of the house that is pulling away from the house like a hinge.

[novacaine]

So the 3 on the back of the house are still moving i take it. The rest of the pilings are currently holding........

You see that often in the rolling hills over yazoo clay down around Madison/Jackson area. Contractors clip the tops of the hills and push the dirt on the slopes to level an area to build a house. One part of the foundation settles (or heaves) at a different rate than the other.
So many unknowns and questions but a few things for you to ponder:
Is one side dryer or wetter than the other........on a consistent basis. I mean is drainage/gutters/landscaping/irrigation consistent all the way around the house?
You can build on that goose snot yazoo clay but you must be consistent with the ground moisture conditions.
You can keep it all wet or dry but you CAN NOT allow drastic ground moisture changes on that crap.

A long time ago a wise old soil and foundation professor told me that you can launch an apollo rocket with a 5 gallon bucket of dry yazoo clay and 5 gallons of water.