When building a home or a commercial property, the first thing that owners are excited about is the design. And you cannot blame them; after all, they will want to have a peek of what the final output will be. Before the structure gets built, you have to understand that there are a lot of things and processes that will happen. There’s a procedure that you need to follow, and skipping it may compromise the quality of the structure.
In this regard, the building’s foundations are among the first things that you need to have on your list. The strength of your building lies in this aspect. Basically, the main purpose of strong foundations is to make sure that your building will stand for a long time and keep everyone safe. Many engineers and designers spend a lot of time planning this aspect, knowing that buildings are constructed for long-term use.
Here are some of the important things that you need to remember about foundations, as recognized by a leading building company in Fort Wayne:
Foundations bear load
The first thing that foundations do for your home is bearing load. As a homeowner, you have to know that there are two types of load: dead and live.
Dead load refers to the unchanging weight of the house. It may be the beams, the home’s skeletal frame, and the roof. Live load, on the other hand, refers to the weight that moves around. It could be you and your family, the appliances that you move around, and the load that falls onto your roof, such as snow and piles of leaves and branches. Basically, these are the types of load that your foundations have to accommodate.
They keep your home still
Look at your home as a dollhouse standing on a table. Now, shake the table and see if the house breaks down into pieces. If it doesn’t, that means that its foundations are strong. The foundations of your home basically keep the pieces together as different mechanical forces act on it. Basically, strong foundations keep your home intact despite earthquakes and soil shifts. For tall buildings and skyscrapers, the load keeps the structure together when the winds blow.
They help control moisture
Moisture is one of the toughest enemies of your home. If you let it get to your home, it may eat away at your house’s vulnerable points such as the wooden beams, roofing, and basement. It may even encourage the growth of black mold. You have to make sure that the foundations are made of solid concrete built to control the moisture that will come into your home. Basically, the basement and its framework should be completely sealed.
Building a structure, whether it be a house or a building, should always be planned down to the last detail. Among the many things that you have to prioritize is the foundations. Without them, your building’s integrity will be weak, making it accident-prone during calamities and minor soil shifts. It is important that you work with a reliable contractor when constructing this aspect of the building.