Oklahoma’s hot, dry summers make the clay around your home just one rainy day away from a pricey disaster. With repair costs running between $8,000 to $12,000, watering your soil could save you in the long run.
“You put a soaker hose around your house and run it (for) 20 to 30 minutes,” said Corey Stewart, general manager at Pier King Foundation Repair in Kiefer. “You don’t want to saturate it completely, but you don’t (want to) go from really wet to super dry.”
That wet to dry cycle in Oklahoma makes your home particularly prone to foundation issues. A rainy day saturates the clay and can make it swell up to 10%, Stewart says. But then come the long spells without water, which cause the clay to shrivel back up and crack.
This is where the problem emerges. When your soil begins to crack, it can pull away from your home, leaving little gaps in your foundation for water to get through. If water seeps into your foundation, it can cause your home to settle or sink.
and worse until you do something about it,” Stewart said.
Josh Gerig, a real estate broker at Tulsa’s Gerig Group Real Estate, has seen bills for more than $20,000 in repairs to his own rental properties and some his clients were purchasing.
There are signs of foundation issues, Stewart says, but most people don’t notice them until they already have an issue on their hands.
“They’re not paying attention to those little small things,” Stewart said. “They tend to wait too long, which makes it more costly.”
Here are some of the most common tells you might need foundation repair:
- Stair step cracks in your siding or cracks in your interior walls
- A chimney that leans
- Misaligned or jammed doors or windows
- Floors that start to slope or become uneven
- Gaps in your flooring
Most of the time, foundation issues are water-related. On top of watering your soil, make sure your gutters are working properly, add downspouts or get downspout extensions. French drains might also be helpful, Stewart says.
Water soil erosion damage is photographed at the Heights apartment complex on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. Credit: Milo Gladstein / Tulsa Flyer 
A hole at the Heights apartments is photographed on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. These holes are used to get under the ground to fix foundations due to soil erosion. Credit: Milo Gladstein / Tulsa Flyer 
A fiilled in bust out is photographed at the Heights apartments is photographed on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. These holes are used to get under the ground to fix foundations due to soil erosion. Credit: Milo Gladstein / Tulsa Flyer 
Water soil erosion damage is photographed at the Heights apartment complex on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. Credit: Milo Gladstein / Tulsa Flyer
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