When the ground starts bulging upward, that’s when something’s gone really wrong in your floor. Whether it's outside or inside your home, you should know it's going to be one of three reasons. The first reasons are the least harmful. It might be an air pocket. Second, it could be a water leak, which is dangerous but not immediately threatening. Third, it could be a hazardous material leak which is the most dangerous. There are many different pipes running through the house that you can’t see or interact with. But they are everywhere. They’re in the walls, ceilings, floors and running underneath both gardens. There are different ways to handle certain kinds of lumps, so don’t try to implement a one size fits all policy.
Gaseous lawn lumps
Lumps in lawns are not that uncommon. But it's crucial that you check the reasons for the lumps before you try to flatten them. Do you have a compost bin without a vent pipe, filled with manure anywhere? It might be that the gas inside the tank has filtered underneath it and slowly expanded underground. Traveling further until it hit a more robust part of the garden, it formed a bubble that slowly expanded upward. If this is the case, you will need to remove the tank before you burst the lump as you could create an explosive outburst fueled by the tank. Use a garden fork and lightly stab at the lump, and turn over the soiled piece by piece. This should let the gas out. It's wise to wear wellingtons and a face mask while you do this.
Through the concrete
When you have a slight hump in the concrete, this is a dangerous sign of a water leak. Only water can penetrate through the multiple inches of concrete. It takes a long time for this to happen so usually, you’re dealing with a leak that has gone unabated for weeks and or months. Call an under slab plumbing repair company and they will send out a team to slowly crack open the concrete and dig their way towards the burst pipes. What puts many people off from treating a slab leak is the potential cost for the repairs to the floor. However, it might not be as serious as you think. Spot repairs can be done if it's a small leak. Pipe rerouting and replacing can be done to strengthen the area and prevent it from happening again. If need be, they can replace the slab entirely so your garden is back to normal.
Mounds of dirt
If you have upturned soil and lawn, this could only be one thing. A mole has decided to dig his way up. They can be a pest by eating your flowers and plants. However, they can also damage the integrity of your flooring by removing soil underneath slabs on your footpath. Therefore, you’ll need to call a mole pest control service to catch and release the creature.
The classic mound of dirt is a sign of a mole. A bubble underneath the soil is a sign of hazardous gas and a wet hump is a sign of a burst pipe underneath a hard surface floor.
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