CAN FROST TILT A HOUSE?! The Problem with FROST HEAVE! (Frost Line / Footings / House Foundations)

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Footings are the stable concrete pads that hold up a the foundation and structure of a house. But the biggest threat to footings / foundation stability is something that many homeowners never consider: FROST.

This short video from The Honest Carpenter explains how frost can actually tilt a house!

The phenomenon is known as FROST HEAVE. In areas with cold winters, where temperatures below freezing can last for several days, frost eventually penetrates the ground soil. The depth to which it can penetrate varies by region.

The lowest point that frost can reach in the ground in a certain area is called the FROST LINE. Lens-shaped ice swells form in the layers between lower soils. These ice sheets can force objects above them to rise.

Footings need to be poured or set so that their bottoms are BELOW THE FROST LINE. If not, ice and frost will cause the footings to heave--sometimes several inches in a matter of days.

Even when footings and foundations subside, they often will not return to their original level, because dirt and meltwater has slightly filled the bottom of the footing hole. As this process repeats year after year, footings and foundations are lifted higher and higher out of level, causing cracked masonry walls, and a variety of other problems.

Fortunately, most of these problems are caught during the footings inspection phase of building--before concrete is even poured!

But, if footings are set above the frost line, or are not the right shape (especially with a downward taper), frost heave will inevitably push them upward in cold climates.

Thanks for watching!