Book excerpt: So Your Home is Built on Expansive Soils: A Discussion on How Expansive Soils Affect Buildings, Second Edition, is written for the layperson in clear, easy-to-understand terms to assist homeowners in understanding why some soils and conditions lead to problematic shrinking and swelling. Both the nature of the soil behavior and how buildings respond are addressed. This comprehensively updated report discusses the difference between cosmetic damage and structural damage resulting from soil shrinkage or heave movement and provides information on both prevention and mitigation of damage