FOUNDATIONS, ENGINEERING, & SEPTICS
Welcome back to our Series titled Why SunCoast? What makes us different.
Today we’re going kick it off with the MOST important piece:
IF YOU GET YOUR FOUNDATION WRONG IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU GOT RIGHT.
Foundations vary depending on the location in which you live. For example, interior states often have basements while coastal states do not. In fact, the closer you get to the coast the more attention you will see towards the elevation of the home, especially post Hurricane Florence which caused massive damage to our area.
Let’s start with a few problems folks deal with before they even get to their foundations within our neck of the woods...Coastal towns and islands. More goes into a foundation than you may assume so let’s tackle what builders are thinking when they look at a piece of property.
ELEVATION AND DRAINAGE
The first thing your builder will naturally look at is the elevation of your lot and where the placement of your home and septic system (if you need one) will go. If you want a pool that is another consideration. Putting a house directly on the ground without building it up is something you will never see Eugene do. Yes, it saves the builder a lot of money but it moves that cost over to the homeowner later down the road when their house floods.
ENGINEERING
Before we even start anything an engineer is involved. They evaluate a very long list of potential issues. A great engineer is worth their weight in gold! After they do their evaluation, they give us a stamped elevation certificate, stake the lot, and then we can apply for a septic permit if needed. After that is approved we will be issued a Construction Authorization and we will apply for a building permit.
Our engineers also do compaction tests on the ground before we even get to the foundation. This ensures you won’t have issues later. We never pour without engineers involved and we do more than is required. (More on this later)
WATER!
We have lots of water around us not to mention the amount God so graciously dumps on us from time to time so making sure your home is built high up enough to not allow water to flood your home is step one. If you’re close to the water you may need to consider building your home on pilings (Not stilts, my friends...They are pilings :)
More and more coastal towns are requiring stormwater measures to be installed with every new home built to reduce the massive damage due to flooding. They are spreading the cost among the homeowners on the island. As of this writing, they are responsible for being able to contain the first two inches of rainwater rather than it draining into your neighbors home. This is expensive and needs to be put into your overall budget so you don’t have an unwelcome surprise!
WIND
Living in hurricane-prone areas such as ours means our homes need to meet an extra stringent building code that allows for hurricane-force winds. You may be asking yourself why we’re addressing that here. Great question! Simple...high winds cause any house to move and shift a little and if your foundation isn’t done correctly it will move a lot more than just a little causing so much shifting you have more damage than just some cracked seams between your drywall.
We’ll say it now and we’ll keep saying it, “If you get your foundation wrong it doesn’t matter what you got right.”
The other issue with wind is the location of your lot. If you are oceanfront you will need extra measures that don’t just apply to your foundation. You will need things such as impact glass in your doors and window. An extra expense...more bracing on your pilings...you may want to choose a different siding and roof.
SOIL
Every place on the planet has its own varying soil composition that has to be addressed by an engineer who tells you what you need to do in order to make sure the area in which you’re building is conducive. You really can’t just wing it. The county or city has specs a builder must follow in order to proceed and be released by the building inspector. Sun Coast uses the top-of-the-line engineer in our area to make sure there won’t be any issues from the get-go even though it costs more for us.
Why?? Imagine the cost to our company if you have an issue with your foundation? Imagine the headache for you? Nothing good comes with cutting this massive corner, so we don’t. Ever.
And, it's just the right thing to do!
The other issue soil presents is with septic systems. Not all soil allows for one so if you live in an area that doesn’t have city sewer this has to be addressed during your due diligence prior to purchasing your building space. You also have water tables to contend with in these coastal towns so different systems and pumps may be required based on your location. Where your foundation sits on your lot is a factor.
If your land percs (Percolation Test)...or allows for a septic system...you will also need to know how many bedrooms it will accommodate. If you have six kids and it perks for a three-bedroom septic system you may want to reconsider. If you move ahead and build a home with seven bedrooms just be aware you will never be able to sell your home as such. It will have to be listed as a three-bedroom because it is dependent on what the septic will allow.
CRAWLSPACES
Not all crawlspaces are bad! In fact, if done correctly they can make moving kitchens and bathrooms in a renovation much, much easier! However, when you live in a damp area the issue is one of moisture and lots of it! Having a crawlspace conditioned can be a really good idea here.
Eugene and his business partner often look at homes to purchase, renovate and then resell. Too many times they find a crawl space that is lower than the ground around it! Can’t even believe it every time we see it. What problems do you think that poses? Water! And lots of it! We knew you were sharp and caught that right away!
But...you’d be surprised at the number of super-smart homeowners that had no idea the mold smell was coming from the moisture underneath their home. They also had no idea the wood was rotting underneath it along with their wet ductwork! A whole lot of important things are under there and you guessed it...once it gets wet...Houston, we have a problem! Because of this, we don’t usually build on crawlspaces so we can avoid that problem altogether.
SLABS
If you’ve ever had a home settle so much there are foundation issues then you know not all slabs are created equal either.
Eugene is super picky. Let’s just get that out of the way right now. He’s known for wanting everything to be as perfect as humanly possible so when you have something as difficult to recover from as a really bad concrete foundation pour let’s just say he’s learned to set everyone involved up for success right out of the gate.
Eugene has been building houses since he was nine-years-old with his Dad and has been in business for himself for over 35 years. In well over 1,000 homes built, he’s only had one small little corner of a house have an issue with its foundation despite being built to the engineer’s specs. He’s that picky and that experienced.
Even when your house is built on pilings the same principles apply. Get it right the first time!
This is the quick rundown:
A concrete footing is poured with steel.
There are three courses of concrete blocks which are 24 inches at a minimum (more or less depending on your elevation.)
Then it is backfilled with compactable soil.
Everything is treated for termites.
It is covered with a 6 mil poly vapor barrier.
Then our 3,000 psi concrete is poured on top of that and while we’re at it, we also fill those concrete blocks in with concrete.
We use a fiber mesh that’s mixed in with the concrete that assures additional strength in the concrete. (There is no room for ‘user error’ with fiber mesh.)
Some pour the concrete over wire. You are supposed to pull the wire to the middle but some don’t do it at all making it pointless...so we don’t use it at all.
You may have heard of a monolithic slab. What that means is the concrete is poured right on the ground so the floor and the footing are all in one pour so it's a slab on grade. Oftentimes the garage floor is then even with the house...not good! What’s even worse is when the next hurricane (or gully washer) comes, water will flood your home! I’m going to vote a big ‘no’ on that!
If you have any questions about how we do things here, please don’t hesitate to give us a shout!
office.suncoasthomes@gmail.com or 252-764-0024