KILLEEN, Texas — Central Texas is finally seeing some rain after a brutally hot summer — that rain could have damaging effects on local homes.
25 News talked to a construction crew who warned about the effects the drought could have on homes once the rain hits.
Back in August, Robert Wieland with Wieland Construction sounded the alarm about the effects the drought was having on the foundation of local homes.
”It could cause a lot of expenses later. I have actually seen walls and porches fall in because they’re not keeping the ground moist,” Wieland said.
“It’s drying so much that once it does get wet, it becomes mud and sinks.”
This is exactly what they're seeing in the area now.
”This is what occurs, is cracking throughout the brick,” said Lead Forman for Wieland Constuction, Anthony Degle.
“It's less noticeable on your stone walls, but it is there, and it’s because of the moisture and the dryness.”
Now, they're working on repairs that they weren’t expecting on a home, and not just on the outside.
”You’ll see cracks coming down the corners of the walls,” Degle said.
“Sometimes across the ceiling, mainly around and above your windows. They'll come down from ceiling and all the way down to your windows.”
While they worked to finish a house for sale with the new repairs added, other crew members are headed out to repair leaks and other damage caused by the rain.
”Just little repairs here and there, because people are wondering why it's happening to their house,” said Kevin Wieland with Wieland Construction.
“They don’t really understand that because of the drought and the rain coming, it makes the foundation sink into the ground.”
This is adding more work and delays for them, because many of these repairs can’t wait.
”It stops our process from doing the jobs we’re on immediately, to have to go help and do the repairs right then and there,” Kevin Wieland said.
Wieland construction is asking customers to bear with them as more calls for small repairs come in, increasing the workload and slowing down progress on other jobs.
In the meantime, look out for any cracks inside and outside your home.
If you do find them, call a professional — the damage could be worse than you think.
