My New Foundation, Part 5

"Know the difference between what you need and what you want."

This may sound simple and deserving of a great big "well, duh", but stick with me.

I am not talking about the differences between wanting gold flecks or needing gold flecks in the wall paint. I'm referring to when it comes to your new foundation, you need to know the non-negotiable, "hill to die on", bottom line outcome you want for your new home once all of the experts are gone and it's just you and your mortgage payment.

Do you want your new home to serve you well for four (4) years, until your last child graduates college, and then you can sell it? Or do you want it to be the last home you'll ever buy and one you can pass down to your kids? Whether or not you actually get what you want depends 100% on your new foundation.

Do you want the slate tile floor to stay beautiful, until you decide to change it, rather than crack all over?

Do you want that gorgeous fireplace made of Hill Country river rock to never sink in the middle of your living room?

Do you want those giant wood beams from an old New England barn to stay in place above your favorite snoozing chair?

You won't stand much of a chance getting what you want in those areas if you don't get what you want in the foundation!

You will encounter experts in every area of home building who will try to save you money and time by convincing you of what you need rather than what you want. For example, when you tell them you want piers that pass through the fill dirt and penetrate twelve feet (12') into the original soil, they may tell you, with great sincerity, how "you really don't need to go through such trouble and expense."

And they may even recount their near perfect track record with foundations to add weight to their argument. To be translated: "I know what I am doing here but you don't; I have poured hundreds of foundations, but this is your first. So, trust me and not your instincts."

Just thank them for their concern and remind them that you said it's what you want, not what you need.

A small but good example of this is when I had my driveway enlarged. I hired a contractor I used in my foundation repair business to do the job. I told him that I wanted the rebar for the new section tied into the old and that I wanted the rebar raised on plastic holders so it would be centered within the new concrete. I had seen too many driveways die an early death because of the practice of putting the reinforcement on the ground and pouring the concrete on top of it. My contractor proceeded to tell me why I really didn't need that; you can guess what my response was. On the day he was going to put down the driveway, I drove by my house. The new area was ready and waiting for the concrete truck, with the rebar lying on the ground!

Needless to say, I put a stop to the concrete pour until he raised the rebar like I wanted. He was not very happy about the extra labor or the concrete truck wait fees he had to pay.

It has been over fifteen (15) years since and that driveway has very few cracks and still makes a great basketball court for my grown sons and their friends. I have found that home owners have pretty good instincts for spotting when a contractor isn't doing something correctly, but they often don't act on them.

I can't tell how many times a homeowner and I have been looking at their failed foundation and had the following exchange:

Me: "Why didn't your contractor do such-and-such to prevent this problem?
Them: "I really wondered the same thing, but I thought he or she was the expert."

If the only thing I accomplish with this article is convince you to give voice to your instincts and not bury them under the "Fear of offending an expert," then I will be happy.

In case anyone is wondering, my company does not pour new foundations. The most we do with the new ones is install our helical steel piers at the homeowner's request. May your dream home never turn into your worst nightmare.

Au revoir.

Get more information by visiting www.AceFoundation.com.