My Little Drought

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this looks like what we call blacksoil here in queensland and is fairly common, and expands when wet and contracts badly when dired over a long period of time.

I spent many years in the royal australian air force and the base I was stationed at built their golf course on this type of soil, we used to loose a lot of golf balls down cracks like those.

I hope your drought breaks soon, that soil can do massive damage to houses when it dries like that.
 
OMG... Impressive drought... Too bad...

About the stuff on the trunks: This is not sap. It looks like resin, a totaly different thing. Resin is helpful for many tree because they can use it as a defense against insects and fungus. Here in Quebec we found it in some pine like Pinus resinosa (yes.... a very good name for a pine with so much resin!!!). Many years after cutting, the wood of that species can still "bleed" resin.

Here is a paper about Pinus ponderosa and drought in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Canadian-Journal-Forest-Research/172330249.html
 
Cool Erythrone but here are those same trees today.
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and here. I count at least 10 dead ones so far. This second picture doesn't show the brown off needles but is what you are looking at.
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The house and its stress.

Outside
The front of the house looks normal with it five columns but on closer examination.
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The last column on the right.
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The front step up to the porch use to be level
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On to the left side of the house where the garage is located. The first little lip in floor is normal and for the garage door to set against. The second and larger lip use to be even with the driveway that's in front of it!
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I don't know for sure until the foundation folks show up but I think the whole left side of the house is being lifted up while the right side (column end) is sinking. On the right side you can see obvious brick issues starting from a bedroom window. It actually looks better then it did!
p1060428.jpg

Now the inside;
I stopped working on the title for now. It just pops back up. Here in my daughter's room located midway in the house apparently is the stress point.
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Outside of her door in the hallway.
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On the other side of the house, master bedroom.
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In the corners of the master and other bedrooms you can see where the walls are shifting and the sheet rock tape buckles up.
p1060422p.jpg

Same thing in the garage, ceiling white, wall yellow (a bonus- daddy long leg spiders:))

p1060434.jpg
 
this looks like what we call blacksoil here in Queensland and is fairly common, and expands when wet and contracts badly when dried over a long period of time.

I spent many years in the royal Australian air force and the base I was stationed at built their golf course on this type of soil, we used to loose a lot of golf balls down cracks like those.

I hope your drought breaks soon, that soil can do massive damage to houses when it dries like that.

We call it gumbo clay here in south Texas. Like rock when hard and thick heavy clay when wet. Here is one of the repairs to the water main two months ago or so. See how the "gumbo" has shrunk a round from the original dig?
p1060429.jpg
 
Too bad... A disaster....

For the trees: I didn't want to say they are not dying.... Yes they are dying. I supposed that many trees probably bear green needles that are dried... Pines can do this. Just saying that this is resin, not sap.

What species of pine are they?
 
sorry to see the damage this is doing to your house rick. I saw alot of this in an area I lived in about five years ago when we had our last big drought.

Foundation work is expensive, but when the drought breaks and the soil re-expands some of those cracks will close up. It might pay to look into options with the foundation, there was a guy here using a resin injection method under pressure to lift the house, it then cured like concrete under the existing house
 
You guys may think for a person who lives in the 21st century, I am out of my mind to say this.
But I do believe that the native americans can actually call for rain with a rain dance. What if the town asks for a ceremony? it would'nt hurt to try when there is nothing else one can do about it .
I heard that asian shamans used to be able to perform other weather manipulations in ancient time as well.
 
:sob::sob: I would guess if one doesn't do something concerning the foundation, it could be too late waiting for mother nature. Are there problems with other underground type utilites besides water, like phone, electric?
I heard on the news that Lake Houston(?) is, for the first time, drying up, and that this drought is expected to last into next year. Terrible.

:sob:is that really true?:mad:
Could very well be as I read that too. :sob:

You guys may think for a person who lives in the 21st century, I am out of my mind to say this.
But I do believe that the native americans can actually call for rain with a rain dance. What if the town asks for a ceremony? it would'nt hurt to try when there is nothing else one can do about it .
I heard that asian shamans used to be able to perform other weather manipulations in ancient time as well.
Whatever works at this point!
 
OMG! I've lived on black expansive soils before that crack like that in summer but never seen it tear apart structures. Likely will be a similar problem when the soil expand back because it won't just push things back into place. I think I would start wetting the soil around the foundation to stop further shrinkage.
 
OMG! I've lived on black expansive soils before that crack like that in summer but never seen it tear apart structures. Likely will be a similar problem when the soil expand back because it won't just push things back into place. I think I would start wetting the soil around the foundation to stop further shrinkage.
I have been. That's why its green a round the house close up but I might as well be piss'in in the wind! Too little to help much.:D
 
Rick,

That is terrible, and in South Texas where rain is usually pretty plentiful.
I imagine it has cut down insects, snakes and spiders.......Hopefully it gets better, but you have some major problems with your house. Those trees are tall enough to cause trouble too..........hang in there.
 
Rick,

That is terrible, and in South Texas where rain is usually pretty plentiful.
I imagine it has cut down insects, snakes and spiders.......Hopefully it gets better, but you have some major problems with your house. Those trees are tall enough to cause trouble too..........hang in there.

You hit my worries on the head Bill!
 

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