Gap Between Dirt and Foundation: Fill or Don’t Fill?

LESLIE: Alright. Now we’ve got Loren from Nebraska on the line. What can we do for you today?

LOREN: I live in an area where it’s all – a lot of clay in the soil. And we have a basement underneath of our house. And the walls have moved in a little bit from the pressure of the earth and I notice in the summertime, when it’s very dry, the earth pulls away from the house. And sometimes, it’s like an almost 2-inch gap of air space that – and I’m just wondering, should a guy put something in there when that pulls away or should he just leave it alone?

TOM: I don’t like to see those big gaps in there. I would be of the mind to tell you to backfill it and add additional soil and tamp it down so that you don’t have those big gaps.

LOREN: So that wouldn’t add more pressure when it gets – the soil gets earth – or the earth gets wet and it pushes back in?

TOM: No. Because I think it’s going to expand equally in all directions. If it’s not pressing on the walls, as it is now, I don’t think it’s going to do that later.

LOREN: OK. Well, you’ve answered my question. Thank you very much.