The Tale of Three Foundations

You can think of it as a modern graphic novel…. or just a chance to be a foundation voyeur. We typically don’t have three different foundations happening at once, but right now we have three different projects with three different foundations each for a unique need.  

Do you ever wonder what is holding up your house? The important thing is that the foundation is sound, and suits the need above it.

Insulated Slab Foundation

In the first Sherborn project, we are adding on a master closet with extra storage to a distinctive and modern home with a slab foundation. Ray has been waiting for a chance to design and build an insulated slab foundation and we finally had the perfect project. What made this a fit?

1.     The existing home has a slab foundation so there was no need for a different assembly.

2.     This type of foundation requires much less excavation which helped avoid a lot of trucking over the septic, disturbing the chicken coop and moving existing AC condensers.

3.     The assembly is worth noting because it is unique compared to the many foundations we have poured over the years.

Underpinning & Helical Piers in Foundation Work

In another hometown project we used another relatively new to residential product, helical piers, for underpinning a foundation so the Owners could re-landscape around their new pool addition and walk directly out from the basement to the pool area. The underpinning was completed so we can excavate a new lower footing and keep the house from sinking! You should consider helical piers when:

1.     You cannot undermine and existing foundation.

2.     You want to support a smaller structure with little to no land disturbance.

Crawl Space Foundation

In Wellesley we have a crawl space foundation that will replace an older one made with block and it wasn’t stable enough to support the new three season porch and en suite bath above. This one has a concrete slab… coined “rat slab”. There are no rats in this area, but it will offer some advantages to long term stability. A crawl space is great when:

1.     The footprint won’t provide any real advantage of space.

2.     You need room for new mechanicals like ducts or plumbing.

To complete our graphic novel,  a shot of Ray in the wild checking land grades for an upcoming garage addition… the first step before digging a foundation to determine the right height for a separate building. Menwhile, in Canton we just finished a monumental site preparation removing six-figures in ledge… and are now ready for the foundation everyone would want- the one that will hold the new home for years to come!