Melbourne’s Muddy Mystery. How the clay-based soil shakes up things beneath.

Imagine you are on a leisurely stroll through one Melbourne’s beautiful suburbs. You notice several homes with tell-tale cracks. It’s possible that your thoughts wandered to methods for underpinning Melbourne structures. Now let’s take a step back to ask, why do these homes have a tendency to lean or crack in the first instance? Under our feet, we often find reactive clay soil. Take a trip to discover the squishy world of clay soil – more info?

It’s like the friend you can never decide on what to dress up for a gathering. As it rains this clay soil will swell up and absorb all of the moisture. When it is dry, what happens? As it shrinks and loses weight, the soil is similar to your mate suddenly going on a diet. The soil reacts to such dramatic changes.

Melbourne’s diverse geography has created pockets with clay soil. This moody clay soil is a concern for homeowners, but why? If the foundation’s ground is shifting constantly, you can imagine standing on an uneven platform. A building’s foundation may settle unevenly causing cracks and structural damage.

But it’s still not done! Unintentionally, urban life adds to the problem. You can think of watering your plants, landscaping, and even leaking pipes. They can change the moisture content of soil, increasing its reactive nature. But don’t start me on the trees. The roots may look beautiful, but they could also be sucking up moisture, which can accelerate soil contraction.

It’s all not doom-and-gloom, hey! Due to the use of modern construction methods, and the marvels of underpinning systems, it is possible to stabilize and protect your home from the destructive effects of the reactive clay. The effects of reactive clay soil can also be controlled with proper drainage and landscaping.

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