It is no secret that a good foundation lasts a lifetime, so it makes sense to pay attention to the details that ensure it stays dry and crack-free for as long as it has a house to support. A good foundation does more than merely keep a home from collapsing. The foundation of a building also keeps moisture out, protects against harsh weather, and resists the earth’s movement. It should continue to support the structure for as many years as required.
It takes a lot more than drilling a hole and pouring concrete into molds to lay a solid foundation. It must be fitted to its location as if it were a customized suit, considering the size of the structure it will be supporting, soil conditions, water tables, and even backfill quality. Every aspect must be precise. The base must be correctly compacted, the formwork must be properly put up, and the concrete must be free of voids. Even the most meticulously built foundation might crumble if one of these factors is overlooked.
Building your house is exhilarating and stressful at the same time, and it takes patience and a thorough understanding of the procedure to do it correctly. Before you begin constructing the foundation for your new home, there are a few things you must accomplish. Neglecting these details can result in disaster. So, even though your contractor will handle most of it, it is essential to understand the procedures involved in construction. This way, you can plan well and be assured that your future home is being constructed on solid ground.
Non-porous backfills that trap water like a sponge, increasing the likelihood of foundation fractures, are one of the many reasons that a building’s foundation fails. It is also not a good idea to rush the curing after the concrete has been laid. In addition, defective foundations can be caused by inadequate compacting and halting the pour. To ensure that problems such as these do not arise, there are seven things you can do when the foundation of your house is laid.
1. Go to the Job Site
Visiting the plot along with your contractor before the digging begins is a must. This prevents them from going into the meeting blind and allows you and your contractor to spot potential issues and address them before they become a major problem. Discuss issues such as water run-off and steep slopes and make sure the designs are practical and not just ideas on paper.
2. Perform a Soil Analysis
A plot’s soil composition can vary greatly, and it is critical to understand what yours is made of, as some varieties are utterly unsuitable for construction. Identifying the soil your plot has allows you to make the best decisions about building your house while assuring you that it can withstand any weather.
A trained engineer must perform a soil test, which usually consists of two independent tests. The first is a compaction test, and the second is a consolidation test to examine how your soil behaves when compressed. The engineer can also use a perc test to determine how the soil collects and releases water. There have been reports of entire blocks sinking as a result of bad soil that crumbled after heavy rain. Hence, this is a serious issue that must be solved before construction begins.
3. Check for Utility Lines Underneath the Ground
You’ll also want to ensure your plot does not have any subterranean utility wires running through it. If a pipe or cable is snagged, failure to inspect it might have disastrous effects. In the United States, connect with your local surveyor, who will tell you if there are any known wires or pipes beneath your property. If there are, they’ll conduct a survey and mark the boundaries, which informs the builders of where they can and can’t dig.
4. Ensure Your Utilities are Connected
Before the foundation is laid, make sure you have all your utilities linked up and ready to go. Utility hookups will be stubbed at each plot in most projects, ready to be extended inside the new homes once they are finished. If you’re constructing a house in an undeveloped area, you’ll need to make arrangements for utilities to be extended to your property. This not only allows you to know exactly where electrical lines and pipes may be carried from and to but also makes building easier.
5. Recognize the Building Codes
Because building standards and regulations vary by location, it is usually a good idea to double-check before starting construction. Pay particular attention to measures such as setbacks (that specify how close your construction might be to property boundaries) and double-check rules such as maximum height, closeness to adjoining structures, etc.
6. Get a Professional to Carry out a Survey
A plat map, i.e., a to-scale map depicting the divisions of land and plots, is almost always included in your house designs. However, these should not be trusted completely, as they are frequently old or wrong. Instead, hire a certified surveyor to come to your property and determine where your land begins and ends. You might acquire land, not on the map. However, it is also possible that you might lose an area that wasn’t on the map earlier. It is vital to know in either case because if your boundary lines are inaccurate, you might not be able to do anything.
7. Organize Your Plans
Finally, excavating foundations may need you to hire many contractors who will need to collaborate. To avoid problems with dimensions and positions, it is critical for each worker to have an exact copy of the blueprints.
Communicating with your building crew is essential, and a good construction company will take care of the issues listed above for the most part. You can ensure your home is constructed in the safest, most effective way possible by directly outlining what needs to be done before starting construction.
When it comes to foundations and determining what needs to be done to make them sturdy, it is essential to choose the right construction company that can provide expert assistance and the best service. Design Everest is an excellent place to consult about what best suits you. To help you decide, we offer a free quote. We also offer virtual on-sites and virtual consultations. Contact us today, and we’ll take care of the rest.
