3. Your Foundation

Your foundation is one of the most important part of your home, the other is the frame. There is nothing worse than a foundation problem, especially when it could of been avoided. There are several types of foundations, pier and beam- this is the one with a crawl space under it. You drill holes in the ground install beams, they can be concrete or sometimes they are treated post. You frame the floor out like a wood deck and build the home on top. Problem with this type of foundation is that rain and dryness and uneven yard watering can cause settling of the piers which in turn causes your floor to become uneven. Foundation leveling companies make a fortune leveling and re-leveling homes. You save money on the initial cost but you will periodically have to level the floor. The best way to go is slab on grade with an engineered post tension foundation or basement. Engineered post tension type of foundation is engineered for the soil conditions on your lot. First there are boring's taken, usually ten to fifteen feet deep to take soil samples to establish soil type. These samples are taken to a lab where moisture test and elasticity test are done. There will be a soil report generated for the foundation engineer. Based on your soil conditions the engineer will design cable locations, beam size and depth. Your builder should have a plan with the layout that also has the engineers seal and signature on it. If they let you this is an easy plan to read and understand. You just count cables going left to right and front to back. Inspections are very important. ALL HOMES SHOULD BE INSPECTED DURING CONSTRUCTION AND REMODELING. This is for your protection and the builders also. If you are in a municipality that requires building permits they probably have their own inspection department. Before I forget - try NOT to have a re bar slab. The steel corrodes and slab failures are common. If you do not have city inspections you need to pay attention. The homebuilder hires his own inspectors in these cases. The reason for this is that most financial institutions require inspections. Let's think about this,-- I hire the guy and pay the guy who is telling me what I need to correct and fix. Sounds like a good deal to me. If I am the inspector I am not going to be to tough on him because I want the next job also. I would just insure that the bare minimum requirements were met. And they do! With an engineered foundation generally the engineer inspects the foundation to ensure that the workmanship meets their standard. You need to realize that the engineer has his reputation and license to protect, not to forget they are like everyone else and do not want to find out how good or bad their insurance is. If you are building a home with a basement your walls can be poured concrete or built out of block. The one thing you want to check is the waterproofing and how they are removing the water that gathers around the walls. You need floor drains when possible. Terrain, yard slope and community rules have a lot to do with what is allowable and what your builder can and can't do. If you are in a situation where you do not have city/township inspections hire your own inspector. Your builder is liable for the first couple of years, but that is not usually when the problems occur. Protect yourself. Generally if the engineer OKs the work you should know it is good. When you move in you should pay attention to your watering habits. In the South and Southwest the builders landscape and sod the front yards of their home. We move in and do not sod the rear yards for a couple of weeks but water the front yards every day. Depending on your soil conditions this could create a problem. Expansive soils will expand from watering (the front yard) while the unsodded or landscaped part of your yard (the rear yard) will not. This can and will create unwanted stress on your foundation and could create cracks and or breaks in extreme circumstances. Your foundation is poured and it is time for the next phase, Rough Grade and Frame Drop. Remember: Building a Home is a 'Logical and Organized Sequence of Activities'. whether the home is 1200 sq ft or 12,000 sq ft the sequence is the same.