You have heard that you need a robust foundation to support the walls and floors to have a solid building. And that’s true. Without the right start on the bottom, the top will be mostly unsupported and dangerously unstable. Other concerns come with a weak foundation, as well. It can lead to severe problems and even irreplaceable structural damage. Fortunately, some basic preventive and combative measures may be employed to prevent any such problem. When building a strong foundation, stability is everything. Here are four factors that you must keep in mind to improve your building foundation.
1. Soil Inspection.
Checking the condition of the ground is the first step before beginning any work on it. When it comes to building a strong foundation, the soil type and its condition become crucial. If the ground inspection is ignored, it can lead to instability in the future. Your structural engineer or your architect may be a trustworthy person to approach for inspecting the soil, especially before drilling in New York or other prime locations.
The likeliest problem you will have is cracks in the masonry. It occurs when clay-like soil expands and contracts regularly as it is getting wet. Each time it does so cracks will appear, and over time, the building will seem to settle. This problem is especially prevalent in areas with excessive rainfall or simply during periods of heavy rain.
To fix the difficulty, you’ll need to contact a pro. They will repair the problem right away and hopefully offer you concepts on the simplest way to forestall future cracking, including reevaluating your grading, the groundwater, and the soil. For particular areas, you may wish to pressure grout or slab jack to compensate for any depressions in the walkway or terrace. Just be sure that in doing so you are not changing the drainage and leading it directly toward your building. It will defeat the purpose of re-grading and pressure grouting.
2. Excavating and Grading Process.
Remove all the small stones, rocks, pebbles, twigs, roots, etc. from the ground as such waste materials may hamper the process of building the foundation. Removal of waste material is necessary because it may also interfere in maintaining a particular level of the slope while grading the soil. Make sure to dig the ground up to the required depth only. For accurate results, an excavation contractor may come to your rescue.
3. Build the Foundation.
To begin building the foundation, install the footings. Keep in mind that you would either be pouring concrete into wood forms or directly into the trenches to create foundations. It depends on the type of foundation you want and the kind of soil. Concrete needs reinforcement for added strength and cracks resistance. It is worth the small additional cost to install rebars (steel reinforcing bars). Once the concrete is poured, make sure to check that there is no air gap as it will lead to developing further cracks in the foundation. Seal the footings with a high-quality sealer. Remember that the concrete base should be cured of any loopholes before proceeding further. Pay attention to minute details such as the right mixture of concrete, amount of water in it, depth of the layer to be poured, etc. Take the help of a quality-minded concrete contractor for building the foundation successfully.
4. Finish Your Foundation.
Last but not the least, make use of concrete finishing tools such as hand float, trowel, edger and hand groover to smoothen the top layer of the foundation. Apply another coat of sealer to get rid of the remaining moisture. You can opt for acrylic-based sealers because they work well as a curing compound as well as a sealer.
Building a strong foundation is a job that requires utmost care. Consult an experienced concrete contractor to help you customize the basis according to the soil characteristics as well as your requirements. It is useful to obtain expert help because it will ensure a strong foundation for years to come. A strong foundation is not just the key to building a stable building from the ground up. It is also how you make a substantial building from the field down. Make you sure you do not have any lasting problems that could cause you constant headaches.