Well, it’s more than pouring concrete and calling it a day. Your foundation sets the structural integrity of your home and should be selected cautiously. While building codes outline the basic premise required for your foundation, you still have the freedom to choose from a variety of styles.
Our most popular foundations are gravel pad with cribs and blocking, steel pilings and basements. The choice of your home’s foundation should depend on the soil type at the construction site, lifestyle choices, climate and budget. Basements can be costly, so if it is only being considered for the extra storage opportunities, a garage can be an easy solution for about ¼ of the cost of a basement installation. Climate is another factor to consider when selecting your foundation. Some foundations do not perform well in areas with high water tables or cold temperatures.
Our clients are often surprised to learn that our homes can be placed onto a basement. However, basements are arguably our most expensive type of foundation. It is encouraged to examine why a basement is needed before committing to it’s construction.
Most home plans of two-storeys or more will require the structural support of a full basement foundation. Structures contained to one storey in height are well supported by a piling foundation.
The depth of the frost line, height of the water table, soil gases and bulk water are all things that need to be considered when installing a basement foundation. Basements can have significant moisture issues – proper site drainage and grading is a key factor that will need to be addressed by your basement contractor.
A properly installed basement foundation is not inexpensive. Expect to add 40 – 60% of the cost of the house to your budget to cover the cost of a properly installed basement. Cranes and onsite finishing work will also need to be factored into the total budget. A piling foundation, by comparison, will add roughly 5 – 10% of the cost of your home to the total cost and cranes may not be required.
Basements are more complicated and more costly than a piling foundation, but for a great many of our homebuyers, there is no other lifestyle option. If you are considering a basement solely for the extra storage opportunities it will provide you, there are likely more affordable alternatives. If you are considering a basement because you need to have a “man cave”, or if you have a large family, then it absolutely makes sense. Those will be questions that only you are able to answer.
Most of the homebuyers that come to see us are thrilled to discover that installing our homes onto basement foundations is part of the process that we will coordinate. Indeed, we insist on it. Our customers are welcome to use their own basement contractors if they choose, but Jandel Homes will manage the project. That is not to serve as a hindrance to our customers, but rather, ensure that our buyers are well-protected.
Our construction team is happy to assist in answering your foundation questions to give you peace of mind.
