Home Building Foundations

As the word implies, the foundation is the beginning of your new home. Because the future of your home rests squarely on its foundation (or so you should hope!) it is imperative that when determining the type of foundation for your home, that you investigate all of the available options.

There are eight common types of home foundations available as options for people building new homes. It is important to consider the location of your home, the necessity of a basement or crawlspace and the amount of the foundation that will be visible to those passing by your home.

Slab Foundations
Slab foundations are common mostly in the south central area of the United States, in areas like Texas. There are several advantages to choosing a slab foundation for your home, however it is extremely important to know whether this type of foundation can safely support your home prior to choosing a concrete slab foundation.

The primary advantage to choosing a slab foundation is that it is inexpensive, both in money and time. Very little soil preparation is required, as the slab is basically concrete poured into frames built on top of existing land. Thus, it is fast and requires less in terms of the amount of labor hours paid to a contractor. A slab also required much less concrete than a poured-wall or concrete block type foundation.

The disadvantages of this type of concrete foundation include a largely limited area in which the foundation type can be utilized. Also, traditional types of foundations tend to afford the homeowner at least a little extra storage space. The concrete slab foundation decreases this storage space and may require creative storage options on the part of the homeowner.

Crawlspace Foundations
Any area that experiences ground freezing requires a subterranean foundation for any structures build upon the land. However, in some areas such as the Midwest United States, there exists a water table that is relatively close to the surface of the earth that restricts the depth to which a foundation can be dug.

In this case, a crawlspace foundation is a great option for homeowners. Crawlspaces provide a small amount of storage space, along with space for mechanics such as HVAC appliances.

Generally, these foundations consist of a concrete footer and either concrete block or poured concrete walls.

Basement Foundations
Most common in the northeast United States are full basement foundations, or partially exposed foundations. These foundations are similar in their structure to the crawlspace foundation; however they generally provide the homeowner with a full height or close to full height basement ceiling. This provides the homeowner with extra living or storage space.

While some basements are completely under the ground level, many times at least one wall of the basement is exposed to the elements. In most locations presently, it is required that if a home has a basement, that it also has more than one access door to the basement. Thus, in the northeast many homes are seen with basement doors through their porches and patios – or even under hatches that lie among the side of the house.

This home building article by:
Michelle McClory with BuildingPlans.com

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