My New Foundation, Part 1

If you were building your "dream home," would you leave it up to the contractor to choose the design of the kitchen, or the type of cabinets and the style of the appliances? Not on your life! Then why leave the most important decision up to them, the design of your new foundation?

After spending over 21 years in foundation repair, I have always been amazed how homeowners will fight a builder to the point of going to court over anything from the color of paint to the number of electrical outlets. But when it comes to the foundation, they comfort themselves with the thought, "Well, he's the expert and his company is well known, so I am sure he will put a great foundation under my home. I need to worry about findig the right color shingles so the roof matches the color in the brick."

ATTENTION, ATTENTION, ATTENTION!

After your home is built, you can change nearly anything you don't like about it except the foundation! 'Sorry for getting carried away and "yelling," but I hope you get my point. If I was having a builder construct my "dream home," his crews would hate me until they got the foundation poured. After that, they wouldn't see me very often.

What's all the fuss about, you ask? Doesn't the foundation's design just have to be the right shape for the floor plan? Yes, of course, but the real question is, "Has it been constructed well enough to support the home on top of it so I can enjoy living in it for years to come?"

There are several key factors which have to be accounted for in order to answer that question in the affirmative. I can only list some of the most important foundation design factors in this post, but I will go into greater detail in subsequent posts. The most important foundation design steps are: know the lot are building on, above or below ground; know what type of unique design demands the lot and floor plan make upon the new foundation; know which experts to talk to and how to interpret what they say; And, know the difference between what you want and what you need.

These are the points I will address in coming posts. If you need answers now, feel free to call me at 972-272-1900 and I will do my best to assist us.

Also, don't forget, you can ask us anything. Fill out the quick form (only 3 fields to complete), hit the "Submit" button, and wait for our answer!

- Alan Ardoin

Get more information by visiting www.AceFoundation.com.