A deep foundation is one of the most important parts of your home renovation or construction project. You will learn more about this fundamental element in this article!
A good basement remodel starts with a solid, level base. If you’re building up, make sure there are no cracks or gaps anywhere on the walls or ceilings. This could cost you money to fix later if it seeps into the space above.
You also want to check for any water stains that might indicate an issue. While some water staining can be tolerated, others cannot. We can help you determine which ones are worthy of attention and what steps you should take to treat them.
If you find issues, get to fixing them as soon as possible! No matter how careful you are, sometimes things just donllt work out. Don’t let water damage linger too long or it may cause bigger problems down the road.
Reasons why a deep foundation is important
A lot of people don’t realize how much of an effect a good, solid flooring system has on your house. It can help keep your home stable and protected in cases of earthquake or flood.
A well-designed basement or underground level often includes advanced engineered systems like reinforced concrete walls and floors to prevent damage to your house. If these protections are not present, then the structure above could collapse onto and damaging or even destroying your house.
With that being said, what kind of foundation you have really makes a difference in how much risk there is for major structural damage due to flooding or seismic activity.
So what is a shallow foundation? That would be a yard with dirt or gravel as a surface layer, if anything at all! This doesn’t provide very much protection against floods or earthquakes, nor does it protect your house from sagging and collapsing.
Your house needs a deep foundation
As I mentioned earlier, your home’s base is its deepest layer. This is what supports you as it absorbs some of the force of an earthquake or other natural disaster.
The reason this is important to know is because if a large amount of people feel like their houses are collapsing, they will likely want to push themselves up and out of the building!
This can be very dangerous for them and for others around them. They might get hit by falling debris or someone may slip and hurt themselves while trying to escape the building.
So how strong is the bedrock under your house? That information is pretty hard to find but we do have one source that tells us it is averagely 30 feet (9 m) down in most areas.
Protect your home from damage
The depth of a foundation is important to protecting your house or apartment- not just for aesthetics, but also for safety!
If your home was flooded due to severe weather, then chances are someone else’s flood may have been triggered by water that made its way into the ground close to yours.
Surface flooding can be disastrous if it contains excess soil, mud, or debris which could clog up household plumbing or lead to overflow in nearby drains. These floods could potentially spread onto areas like walkways or lawns where grass or plants would get wet and possibly ruined.
This article will talk about how deep a foundation is and what effects different depths have. Then, we’ll discuss some potential dangers related to shallow foundations, before finally talking about why having a solid foot wall under your home is best.
Know the differences between a membrane and a slab
A membrane is one layer of brick or concrete wall that sits atop another layer, usually called a slab. Some examples are glass walls in buildings or plastic sheets used to cover windows during winter.
A slab is just what it sounds like- a flat surface with nothing under it. This can be hard or soft rock such as limestone or granite, depending on the builder’s preference.
A slab house has its advantages and disadvantages. The major advantage is cost. A very expensive house can look extremely sleek and pretty, which it should if you ask me!
The disadvantage is how difficult it can be to heat or cool a slab house effectively. If your house gets hot in the summer, your skin will burn. In the winter, your feet will get cold really quickly.
Membrane houses avoid this by incorporating an insulated barrier between the roof and the ground. These barriers can easily be replaced, making them more affordable than a solid floor.
Another important part of a membrane house is gaskets. There are many types for different uses, but all work similarly- push up against each other to create a tight seal.
This article will talk about some easy ways to identify if a foundation is a membrane or a slab and what factors determine which kind of home you want.
Tips for selecting a contractor
While most professionals will agree that having a strong base or foundation is important, there are some who put more emphasis on the depth of their foundations than others. These “foundation hounds” like to talk about how much coverage your foundation has rather than what kind of cover you have given your house.
Selecting a professional builder is not as easy as picking someone with a lot of experience. It is good to do your research and compare prices across several builders before deciding where to make your home purchase.
You should also look into each contractors previous work and whether they take responsibility for their mistakes. A pre-construction meeting can help determine if this is an appropriate match for you.
Once you find a potential seller, ask lots of questions and don’t be afraid to push them when necessary! You want to know everything about them and feel comfortable with them.
Check your contractor’s insurance
It is very important to make sure that your contractors’ policy covers foundation repair or replacement. Most policies have a special endorsement for foundations, but it is always better to verify this yourself.
A builder/contractor may try to save money by doing some of the work themselves (such as pouring the concrete slab) instead of hiring professionals. If something happens later, however, they might be out of coverage because their policy only applies to professional work.
You also want to check whether there are limitations on how long they will cover you for structural repairs. A lot of times, builders will say that they covered you through “masonry work” which usually means putting in a new wall. But if several years down the road, the new wall starts coming apart, you won’t have coverage for that.
Your best bet is to hire someone who does quality work and is well-insured.
Ask for references
As mentioned earlier, asking for references is one of our top tips for determining if someone you know has good credit. But what kind of reference does it take to determine whether or not someone can handle money?
A lot of people will talk about their parents but unless they’ve been bankrupted due to poor spending habits there’s no proof that they had control over how much money they spent. Friends and colleagues are great references as long as you have verifiable proof that they pay their bills on time.
If you are ever in doubt go through your own financial records (bank statements, receipts, etc) to see if you can find any red flags. If you do come across something you don’t understand, ask who else you could speak with about it so you can get more advice.
Just because someone doesn’t have perfect credit doesn’t mean they can’t manage their money well and keep up with their monthly payments! Credit cards make life expensive so it would be hard to keep track of them if they’re never used.
Consider your location
When deciding where to build your new home, you should consider both the land and house as well as how much water is in the area.
Land that is higher up may be more expensive than lower land, but it will give you better views! If you want an easy way to determine if this is the case, look at the homes next door and see what size yards they have.
If they are larger than your lot, then your home will not feel private due to lack of space around it. This can be uncomfortable or even frustrating depending on what you wanted from a property.
On the other hand, a high quality home could cost many thousands of dollars more because the owner paid for a view. Therefore, make sure you know what price range you belong to before buying a home.
