[url]https://picasaweb.google.com/pewaukeedp/PatioPics#[/url] Pics of our existing patio slab. The slab is pitched towards our home so we have to cut it away since water is pooling. I plan on tearing it out, getting some lime stone (1/4" Traffic Bond), and pitch the area away from the house. I plan on adding pavers as well. Good idea? Are we safe to rent a jackhammer from home depot and cut it away ourselves?

I have a question regarding timing of foundation repair. We live in Houston, TX, where we're been having a bad drought and lots of ground movement (clay soil). Our house is a mid 1960s house on a slab foundation. From what we've heard from our neighbors and from our experience in the house is that some movement especially when the weather is either really dry or wet is to be expected, but we had a lot of movement (cracks in the walls, gaps in the flooring). It looks like the house has had foundation repair on parts previously with piers, but not others, which are the areas with the most movement. We are considering getting it repaired, but I am concerned that since the ground is so dry things will move again when it starts raining again. Two questions 1) is it OK to get the foundation repaired when we are in a drought? 2) Can the foundation move so much that it is not repairable? Thanks, J