The foundation of your home is an essential part of it. Any problem with it would have a devastating effect on your house. Though there are various ways a foundation can get damaged, you can prevent most of them. This is through simple maintenance and by making your foundation solid and stronger. For those who are currently laying down their future home’s foundations, here are a few tips that should make them stronger.
Know Your Foundation Types
There are three different types of foundations, and you’ll have to pick one that will best support your house in the local environment. The most popular one is the full basement. This involves digging down deep and laying down footings combined with eight-foot walls that enclose a solid slab of concrete. The result is a room that is available for a variety of uses.
Crawlspace foundations are like full basements, but instead of high walls, there is only space for people to crawl around. For areas with high water tables, slab-on-grade foundations are the favorite. Building this sort of foundation involves pouring a concrete slab over a graded surface and combined with a shallow footing.
Different foundation types work best in different areas. This is because of the soil and other environmental factors. Knowing which type works best in your area ensures that your foundations won’t face problems that they are not prepared for.
Inspect the Soil
The soil is very important when it comes to foundation laying. For example, if your construction site is on soft clay, then most ordinary foundations will end up settling. This leads to cracks in the walls and masonry. After a soil inspection, consult with an engineer to see whether you need special modifications for your foundations.
Reinforce Properly
It is easy enough to find concrete reinforcing mesh for sale. Adding this to your foundation will strengthen it. But for it to do that will require installing the reinforcement properly. For one, inspect the mesh before you install it. It needs to be free of rust and other loose contaminants. These can affect the quality of the concrete poured over it.
Next, when pouring concrete, the reinforcement mesh needs to be completely covered. This is what allows it to strengthen the concrete. You also need to space out the mesh so that it covers as wide an area as possible.
Keep the Water Out
One of concrete’s failings is that it is not waterproof. If exposed to water, your concrete foundations will soak it up. Once water works its way in, it can damage the concrete via erosion and other means. This is why you should do your best to protect it from water. First, apply acrylic sealers on the foundations as a means to finish the cement. Second, you can do some landscaping around the area so that water does not reach the foundations.
A good foundation will keep your home standing years to come. With the tips above, you can be confident that your foundations will be able to bear that weight. With your home’s foundations laid down, you can then start building up a home that will shelter your family with no worries.