Drought worsens in United States

It's been 56 years since the last major drought in the United States. Ever since the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) began keeping records on billion-dollar weather disasters in 1980, there has been a total of 16 billion-dollar drought disasters and this one could creep to that number. As of early July, 60 percent of the Unites States was classified as experiencing a drought.

So how can you home's foundation be affected?

When soils around your home's foundation dry, it ends up shrinking (assuming the soil is clay like most in northeast Wisconsin are). When it shrinks there are voids left from the drying soil. Because the foundation of your home rests upon these soils, it creats an unstable environment that can allow your home to sink into. When this happens the structure of your home is more succeptable to sinking.

Common signs of a sinking foundation:

- Clues from windows and doors - Look for cracks that can appear coming from the corners of your doorways and windows, typically you will start to see this cracking in the drywall of your upper level. Also look for doors or windows that are out of square of don't open and close properly.

- Stair-step cracking - stair-step cracking is often a tell-tale sign of foundation settlement and is very common in brick and concrete block walls. As your home continues to settle further, vertical cracks may widen, indicating that the wall is rotating outward.

- Chimneys - Sometimes during settling, if you have a chimney, it may start to separate from the rest of the house. Sometimes chimneys are built on a foundation that is not connected to the rest of the home, making it even more at a risk of settlement.