Identifying Different Types of Foundations
When it comes to foundation repair, there are different types of foundations that your home may have been constructed with.
The type of home foundation you have generally comes down to the geographic location and the year that the property was built.
The most common forms of foundations are those built with a crawlspace, a basement, or a concrete slab.
A crawlspace foundation is typically about three to four feet deep and uses pillars to secure the floor of your home to the ground. Generally, these foundations are found in regions that may be prone to flooding or hot weather. The pillars help protect the property from flooding, while the crawl space keeps the foundation nice and cool in the summer months.
If your home has a basement, it serves in a very similar function as a crawlspace, but it’s basically a more sophisticated version.
Basements, like crawlspaces, use concrete perimeters and provide support to the home using pillars. You’ll see homes with basements typically in regions that have colder weather and are more susceptible to snow or thawing. If you own a home with a basement, you should monitor things like mold and bacteria since most basements do not have open air flowing through the space.
If your home foundation was built with slab concrete, that means your foundation is composed of poured concrete that sits on top of the soil, ranging from four to eight inches in thickness. Slab foundations are typically used for regions where frost and freezing aren’t an issue – plus, it’s a very affordable option with little concerns for mold or bacteria.
No matter what type of foundation your home has, it’s important to remedy any foundation issues as soon as you spot the signs. Things to look for are cracks in bricks, cracks in wall corners, cracks in your flooring, cracks in your sheet rock or drywall, and/or gaps or sticking in your doors and windows.
Like most things, foundations degrade over time which is why if you have noticed any of these signs — and your home is 10 years or older — schedule an appointment with Julian Construction. We’ll conduct a thorough, and free, inspection and provide you with our diagnosis and solutions for repair.
Now more than ever it’s important to be proactive about earthquake preparation and safety. Julian De La Torre is an expert in Los Angeles foundation inspection, foundation repair and foundation replacement.
Julian’s company, Julian Construction, has inspected over 30,000 structures, working with engineering firms and local departments of building & safety. The company has done more foundation repair and earthquake retrofitting in Los Angeles than any other company in the area over the last five years.
