Even in Bible times the importance of a good foundation was recognized, you remember the story about building "on rocks and sand". Well it still applies today as the structure has to stand on something solid.So it is not a bad idea that before you start building you know what is under the ground of your stand and hopefully for you and your wallet, it is not “air blown drift sand from West Africa” (Yep happened to me), old sand dune, underground river (also happened to me) or solid rocks the size of caravans.
It is good to know this before you get a costing from your builder. They normally don’t find out before they quote and it is an exclusion in the contract and costing. Also if there is something funny under there, most builders don’t know how to deal with it and they start compromising and get innovative. That is when you have to start getting VERY scared, unless you know the basics and this is the time to consult your engineer and get the real Professionals involved.
By this time you should have formally appointed a formally qualified and registered engineer for your project, one that actually does the site visits you pay him for. It is not good to brag that your engineer does not give you hassles on site and never visits and do the required inspections before signing off on stuff. It is going to bite you on the backside later.
One thing you have, that was not available in the Bible time is GOOGLE, use it, it is quick and cheap. All the basics is there, that is if you can read. But then if you cannot read you should not be building your own house or anyone else for that matter. A good rule of thumb for foundations is that the bottom is solid, the sides square and the excavated area deep enough and clean. A real professional should by law sign off on it.
It will help you if you know what to look for on your site visit and ask informed clever questions, not many questions. If you ask really uninformed, dumb, lets just call it “stupid” questions to try and look clever, (things which you heard about around the dinner table or from your DAD or colleagues), you will just annoy the builder.
To be continued...
* Note - If you find the Blog interesting, it makes more sense to read the Blog entries chronologically from the start.
It is good to know this before you get a costing from your builder. They normally don’t find out before they quote and it is an exclusion in the contract and costing. Also if there is something funny under there, most builders don’t know how to deal with it and they start compromising and get innovative. That is when you have to start getting VERY scared, unless you know the basics and this is the time to consult your engineer and get the real Professionals involved.
By this time you should have formally appointed a formally qualified and registered engineer for your project, one that actually does the site visits you pay him for. It is not good to brag that your engineer does not give you hassles on site and never visits and do the required inspections before signing off on stuff. It is going to bite you on the backside later.
One thing you have, that was not available in the Bible time is GOOGLE, use it, it is quick and cheap. All the basics is there, that is if you can read. But then if you cannot read you should not be building your own house or anyone else for that matter. A good rule of thumb for foundations is that the bottom is solid, the sides square and the excavated area deep enough and clean. A real professional should by law sign off on it.
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| This is a good foundation but there are other issues! |
It will help you if you know what to look for on your site visit and ask informed clever questions, not many questions. If you ask really uninformed, dumb, lets just call it “stupid” questions to try and look clever, (things which you heard about around the dinner table or from your DAD or colleagues), you will just annoy the builder.
To be continued...
* Note - If you find the Blog interesting, it makes more sense to read the Blog entries chronologically from the start.
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