The foundation of your house is the most crucial component. It keeps the structure sturdy and the people inside safe. Without a solid home foundation, you run the risk of the entire structure shifting, sliding, and ultimately falling apart.
The foundation of your home is made up of much more than simply concrete, despite what you may think. In fact, regardless of the size of your home, there are several materials that come together to make up the foundation and ensure your home sits upon something that is long-lasting and ready to withhold the pressure of the rest of your home.
1. Concrete
Okay, so this may seem obvious that your house sits on a concrete foundation pad. And, if you have reliable professionals like TexCon Ready Mix behind the construction of your home’s foundation, you are sure to feel at ease that it will last longer and never crack, shift, or slide.
But what a lot of people don’t realize is that sometimes a wooden frame is first constructed to hold all of the concrete in order to build the foundation pad. After the concrete dries, the frame is removed and all you are left with is concrete.
2. Metal
Sometimes, as a way to enforce the foundation that your house will rest upon, metal reinforcements will be added. However, unlike the wooden frame that may be built into your foundation, and later removed, the metal reinforcements will stay as part of the foundation to ensure it is as solid as can be.
3. Breeze Blocks
In addition to the main structure of your home’s foundation, concrete blocks (or breeze blocks as they are known, since they weigh much less than you might think), are used to build the foundation of your house upwards.
Building upon each other like you would stack bricks, these concrete blocks are frost resistant so if water gets inside of them, and they freeze, they will not crack and fall apart. This makes for a very strong home. Lastly, they are much easier to stack than traditional bricks and are much larger as well.
4. Bricks or Stones
That said about breeze blocks, sometimes older homes have brick or even stone foundation walls holding the entire structure together. They are just as sturdy as concrete blocks. However, stones are more susceptible to water and freezing damage since there are significant gaps in between each stone that can store water much easier.
5. Wood
In addition to helping build the bottom structure of your house’s foundation, wood can be used to build your home upwards as well, as opposed to using concrete blocks, bricks, or stone.
Typically, pressure treated wood is used to build the foundation of homes. This is because pressure treated wood is pumped full of chemicals preventing it from rotting or falling victim to termites or other wood loving pests.
6. Weatherproofing Material
If your home was built with a basement, which is considered a part of the home’s foundation, you will definitely have some weatherproofing material placed in it to prevent it from becoming exposed to water damage. This is especially true if you want to use the basement at any time while living there.
If you fail to weatherproof the basement, you could end up with severe water damage, which may even lead to mold. Mold is commonly found in basements and is not only toxic to your health, it is very expensive to treat if left undetected.
Altogether, there is a lot that goes into building the foundation that your home sits on. And, while you may be overly concerned with the exterior appeal of your home (and rightfully so), it is also crucial you pay attention to what your home’s foundation was made of and its status over the years, making immediate repairs if anything starts to crack or shift.
