ResidentialShippingContainerPrimer(RSCP)

Home

ShippingContainerHouseFoundations

Foundations
TypesandConstructionSystems

Thethreebasictypesoffoundationsaredeepbasement,crawlspace,andslabongrade.

Thereareseveralconstructionsystemsfromwhichtochooseforeachfoundationtype.Themostcommonsystemsare
castinplaceconcreteandconcreteblockfoundationwalls.Othersystemsincludepressurepreservativetreated
woodfoundations,precastconcretefoundationwalls,masonryorconcretepiers,castinplaceconcretesandwich
panels,piles,andmasonrysystems.

Aslabongradeconstructionwithanintegralconcretegradebeamattheslabedgeiscommoninclimateswithashallow
frostdepth.Incolderclimates,deepercastinplaceconcretewallsandconcreteblockwallsaremorecommon,althougha
shallowerfootingcansometimesbeuseddependingonsoiltype,groundwaterconditions,andinsulationplacement.

Mostofthefoundationtypesandconstructionsystemsdescribedabovecanbedesignedtomeetnecessarystructural,
thermal,radon,termiteandmoistureorwatercontrolrequirements.Factorsaffectingthechoiceoffoundationtypeand
constructionsystemincludesiteconditions,overallbuildingdesign,theclimate,localmarketpreferences,and
constructioncosts.

BusinessPlanExample
DownloadBusinessPlanTemplateFilltheBlanks&GettheJobDone!
Gotobiztree.com
SiteConditions

Thetopography,watertablelocation,presenceofradon,soiltype,anddepthofbedrockcanallaffectthechoiceofa
foundationtype.Anyfoundationtypecanbeusedonaflatsitehowever,aslopingsiteoftennecessitatestheuseofa
walkoutbasementorcrawlspace.Onsteeperslopes,awalkoutbasementcombinesabasementfoundationwallonthe
uphillside,aslabongradefoundationonthedownhillside,andpartiallybermedfoundationwallsontheremainingtwo
sides.

Awatertabledepthwithin8feetofthesurfacewilllikelymakeabasementfoundationundesirable.Loweringthewater
tablewithdrainageandpumpingusuallycannotbejustified,andwaterproofingmaynotbefeasibleormaybetoocostly.A
watertablenearthesurfacegenerallyrestrictsthedesigntoaslabongradeorcrawlspacefoundation.

Thepresenceofexpansiveclaysoilsonasiterequiresspecialtechniquestoavoidfoundationmovementandsignificant
structuraldamage.Often,buildingsplacedonsiteswithexpansiveclayrequirepilefoundationsextendingdowntostable
soilstrataorbedrock.Similarly,siteswithbedrocknearthesurfacerequirespecialfoundationtechniques.Expensive
bedrockexcavationisnotrequiredtoreachfrostdepthnorisiteconomicallyjustifiabletocreatebasementspace.Inthese
unusualconditionsofexpansiveclaysoilsorbedrocknearthesurface,specialvariationsofthetypicalfoundationtypesmay
beappropriate.

Forstarters,youcanlearnalotaboutsoilconditionsonyoursitebytakingadvantageofpublicsectorresources.The
UnitedStatesDepartmentofAgriculturehaspreparedsoilmapsformostofthecountry.Availableatnocostatanylocal
USDAbranchoffice,thesemapssuperimposesoiltypedelineationsoveraerialphotographs.Bystudyingthesemapsand
thesoildescriptionsthataccompanythem,youcanfindoutinformationsuchaswhetheryoursitemighthaveahigh
groundwatertableorwhetherproblematicsoilssuchasshrink/swellsusceptibleclaysmightlurkbeneaththesurface.

OverallBuildingDesign

Thefoundationtypeandconstructionsystemarechoseninpartbecauseofappearancefactors.Althoughitisnotusuallya
majoraestheticelement,thefoundationatthebaseofabuildingcanberaisedabovethegroundplane,sothefoundation
wallmaterialscanaffecttheoverallappearance.Abuildingwithaslabongradefoundationhaslittlevisiblefoundation
however,thefoundationwallofacrawlspaceorbasementcanvaryconsiderablyfromalmostnoexposuretofullexposure
abovegrade.
 FreeImageDownload
1,000,000FreePhotosOnlineSignUpForFreeHiResImages!Goto
stockfreeimages.com

Climate

Thepreferenceoffoundationtypevarieswithclimaticregion,althoughexamplesofmosttypescangenerallybefoundin
anygivenregion.Oneoftheprincipalfactorsbehindfoundationpreferenceistheimpactoffrostdepthonfoundation
design.Theimpactoffrostdepthbasicallyarisesfromtheneedtoplacefoundationsatgreaterdepthsincolderclimates.
Forexample,afootinginMinnesotamustbeatleast42inchesbelowthesurface,whileinstatesalongtheGulfCoast,
footingsneednotextendbelowthesurfaceatallinordertoavoidstructuraldamagefromfrostheave.Becausea
foundationwallextendingtoasubstantialdepthisrequiredinnorthernclimates,theincrementalcostofcreatingbasement
spaceismuchless,sinceitisnecessarytobuildapproximatelyhalfthebasementwallanyway.Inasouthernclimatethe
incrementalfirstcostofcreatingabasementisgreaterwhencomparedwithaslabongradewithnosignificantrequired
footingdepth.

Thishistoricperceptionthatfoundationsmustextendbelowthenaturalfrostdepthisnotentirelyaccurate.Buildingswith
veryshallowfoundationscanbeusedincoldclimatesiftheyareinsulatedproperly.

LocalMarketPreferencesandConstructionCosts

Thefoundationtypeandconstructionsystemarealsochosenbasedoncostandmarketfactorsthatvaryregionallyoreven
locally.VirtuallyanyfoundationtypeandconstructionsystemcanbebuiltinanylocationintheUnitedStates.Therelative
costs,however,arelikelytodiffer.Thesecostsreflectlocalmaterialandlaborcostsaswellastheavailabilityofcertain
materialsandthepreferencesoflocalcontractors.Forexample,incertainregionstherearemanycontractorsspecializingin
castinplaceconcretefoundationwalls.Becausetheyhavetheconcreteformsandtherequiredexperiencewiththis
systemandbecausebiddingisverycompetitive,thissystemmaybemorecosteffectivecomparedwithotheralternatives.
Inotherregions,theavailabilityofconcreteblocksisgreaterandtherearemanycontractorsspecializinginmasonry
foundationwalls.Intheseareas,acastinplaceconcretesystemmaybelesscompetitiveeconomicallybecausefewer
contractorsareavailable.

Moresubjectivefactorsthatinfluenceadesignerschoiceoffoundationtypeandconstructionsystemaretheexpectations
andpreferencesofindividualclientsandthehomebuyingpublic.Thesemarketinfluencesarebasednotonlyoncostbut
alsoontheareastradition.Ifpeopleinacertainregionexpectbasements,thenbuildersgenerallyprovidethem.Ofcourse,
analyzingthecosteffectivenessofprovidingabasementrequiresasomewhatsubjectivejudgmentconcerningthevalueof
basementspace.Thesemoresubjectivemarketfactorsandregionalpreferencestendtoincreasetheavailabilityof
materialsandcontractorsforthepreferredsystems,whichinturnmakesthesesystemsmorecosteffectivechoices.
 HowtoBuildaShippingContainerHome:
ConceiveIt.FocusIt.ActionIt.

DesignServicesandHelplinkhere.

copyright20022013RSCP+KOOP.amLLC
allimagesandmaterialsarethepropertiesoftheirrespectiveowners
 Thethreebasictypesoffoundations
fullbasement,crawlspace,andslabon
gradeareshowninFigure15.Ofcourse,
actualhousesmayincludecombinationsof
thesetypes.Informationonafourthtypeof
foundationtheshalloworhalfbermed
basementcanbefoundinthe
Building
FoundationDesignHandbook
(Labsetal.1988).
Thereareseveralconstructionsystems
fromwhichtochooseforeachfoundation
type.Themostcommonsystems,castin
placeconcreteandconcreteblockfoundation
walls,canbeusedforallfourbasic
foundationtypes.Othersystemsinclude
pressurepreservativetreatedwood
foundations,precastconcretefoundation
walls,masonryorconcretepiers,castin
placeconcretesandwichpanels,andvarious
masonrysystems.Aslabongrade
constructionwithanintegralconcretegrade
beamattheslabedgeiscommoninclimates
withashallowfrostdepth.Incolder
climates,deepercastinplaceconcretewalls
andconcreteblockwallsaremorecommon,
althoughashallowerfootingcansometimes
beuseddependingonsoiltype,groundwater
conditions,andinsulationplacement.
Mostofthefoundationtypesand
constructionsystemsdescribedabovecanbe
designedtomeetnecessarystructural,
thermal,radon,termiteandmoistureor
watercontrolrequirements.Factorsaffecting
thechoiceoffoundationtypeand
constructionsystemincludesiteconditions,
overallbuildingdesign,theclimate,andlocal
marketpreferencesaswellasconstruction