Several Woods Cross homes are sinking without a clear explanation

WOODS CROSS, Utah — A Woods Cross homeowner is wondering who and what is to blame for his sinking house, which is costing him thousands of dollars.

Bryan Bradbury’s yard was all dug up Tuesday afternoon as he could not get into his basement, and most of his belongings were in storage while crews tried to rebalance his house, which has been a lengthy process.

“There’s a five-inch drop from one side of the house to the other side,” Bradbury explained while showing KSL TV the damages.

He’s lived in this Woods Cross neighborhood for ten years, but it wasn’t until recently that the damages began to show.

“The cracks started getting really bad about one year ago,” Bradbury said. “Where the walls meet the ceiling, around all the corners of the windows.”

He said he’s paying over $100,000 to repair his home.

“We’re doing push piers. So they’re going around the entire foundation. They’re putting piers in,” Bradbury said. “We have 54 piers that are being pushed.”

This house in Woods Cross is sinking. And it’s not the only one. While I was shooting video, neighbors stopped to tell me about their house, or another in the neighborhood dealing with this issue.
Their question: why?
Interview with the homeowner coming up at 5&6 @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/NodKwMStnZ

— Shelby Lofton (@newswithShelby) April 25, 2023

However, there is more work to be done. When crews finish this project, it’s onto other problems affecting the home.

“Get your doors fixed and close and work right and reseal the windows so our heating bill can go back down,” Bradbury said.

He said he doesn’t know why his home is sinking.

“There were a lot of questions for what was the cause of all this. It’s really hard. It’s a very expensive repair to see a lot of your life savings just kind of going up in smoke,” he expressed.

And Bradbury isn’t the only person in the neighborhood having this sinking issue.

“We talked to neighbors a little bit, and we found out more about the problem from them,” he said. “I know our other neighbor did this kind of repair last year. Same with the house next to them.”

Bradbury said there are rumors about issues with the water table in that area.

“The big reason everybody is kind of centered around now is the water and the drought,” he said.

But it’s still unclear why this issue is happening to so many people.

The Woods Cross City admin replied to our requests for comment Tuesday night with this statement:

We have an entire page on our website dedicated to the City’s efforts to learn about, educate, and assist homeowners with subsidence. It can be found at: https://www.woodscross.com/soil

The City first became aware of the subsidence in the later part of 2015. While the subsidence is a naturally occurring sinking of the earth’s surface, Woods Cross has made extraordinary efforts to help citizens in this area rather than to see homes fall into disrepair and possible abandonment. Those City’s efforts include:
          a. conducted and participated in extensive geotechnical studies,
          b. gathering and disseminating data on the geological features in the area,
          c. established a Community Reinvestment Area to help support the repairs of homes in the area (as budget money is available) which include,
                    i. paid over $1,627361 in CRA grants to assist homeowners with foundation repairs,
                    ii. loaned over $71,090 in low interest loans to help homeowners with foundation repairs,
                    iii. providing staff assistance and help in dealing with subsidence questions,
          d. waived building permit and plan review fees for anyone repairing their foundation (by themselves or through the CRA Grant),
          e. worked with Davis County to fund $337,184 in foundation repairs for families of low to moderate income,
          f. teamed with local agencies and municipalities to fund further studies that we anticipate will provide federal funding to mitigate the impacts of the subsidence.

What advice would you give to future homeowners? As with any home purchase, a perspective homeowner should do his/her due diligence to understand the property that they are looking to purchase. This can include hiring qualified inspectors or professionals to evaluate the property and ensure that the homebuyer understands what they are purchasing.

The City will continue to assist and support those impacted by subsidence as much as possible with the revenue available.