What’s it mean when a house is settling? Can it settle too much?
In: Engineering
Houses (all buildings) support a massive amount of weight. As time goes on, this weight starts to distribute better across the soft bits of the structure. Wood posts compress a little and the foundation sinks into the ground a bit.
Settling is expected and planned for in the design. Interestingly, settling is so extreme in skyscrapers that it can misalign elevator shafts if not planned for.
But, yes, too much settling is not good. It can cause the foundation to crack and all sorts of nasty stuff. If you look at the corners of older houses, you can find cracks in the plaster and drywall. This is caused by one wall settling lower than the others.
Now, most places will settle, maybe shift a bit, and that is that. You might have to do some minor repair, or maybe raise the foundation (you’ll see this around garages a lot). In bad cases, though, you get the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or the structure may become unstable and collapse.
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