Performance of House Foundations on Expansive Soil

A statistical survey was conducted to ascertain the extent and severity of damage to houses in Winnipeg, Canada, associated with movements of shallow foundations resting on expansive clay. Based on these statistics the average cost of associated repairs was estimated per house, for a lifetime of 100 years, and compared to the cost of using pile foundations. Soil-moisture profiles around the perimeter of a house that had undergone substantial differential movements were found to vary considerably.