Foundations- The Cornerstone of Strong Homes

Do you know what’s the basic element that helps build a strong home?

It’s the foundation! A highly overlooked element, a solid foundation brings about a plethora of benefits for your property. It provides stability to the entire home, keeps groundwater from seeping in, and offers additional storage or living space.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to constructing foundations for new homes in Kelowna. In this blog, we will discuss in detail the most common foundation types and key factors that cause variable foundation requirements in different parts of Kelowna.

Factors That Affect Foundation Requirements

Let’s start off with some of the crucial factors that play a key role in determining the variable foundation requirements for home construction-

● Conditions and characteristics of the site that you’ve chosen.

● The overall climatic conditions of the particular area.

● Terrain gradient, or steepness of the slope of the plot you’ve chosen.

● Proximity of the plot to water sources.

● The community building codes of the particular region that you’ve chosen.

Most Common Types of Foundations For Home Construction

Now let’s take a look at the most common types of foundations extensively used in the Canadian region for new housing developments in Kelowna.

There are three essential foundation types that contractors extensively make use of-

Slab Foundation

One of the most popular foundation types, a slab foundation refers to a slab of poured concrete, that sits on beds of gravel, crushed stones, or sand. The base layer makes this foundation type ideal for drainage.

A concrete slab foundation is usually thicker at the edges to create a footing, that provides additional support to your building. The slab is further strengthened by embedding rebars (steel rods) in the concrete. The building’s frame like the walls, and floors, is then connected to this slab, resulting in maximum stability.

A concrete slab foundation helps prevent pest infestations in your home and also safeguards your house from moisture damage. The only pain point of this foundation type is that it might not be as stable as it seems, as it’s not dug into the earth, unlike the other two foundation types.

Basement Foundation

Did you know that the basement spaces that you see across many homes are the foundation that keeps the entire property stable?!

A basement foundation doesn’t just help you gain some extra square feet of living space, but it also helps you have room for additional storage. Additionally, it also provides solid stability to your home, as a modern-day basement foundation is built by excavating treat holes in the ground and pouring concrete to develop a strong base layer.

Basement foundations are further classified into two types- finished and unfinished. While finished basements offer habitation options, an unfinished basement is best used as an additional storage space.

Added to that, a basement foundation is expensive compared to its slab counterpart. And if you use Insulated Concrete Foundation (ICF), your basement will be warmer and more comfortable, which will eventually add to the resale value of your home.

Crawl Spaces

For places that experience harsh winters, and moist weather conditions, crawl space foundations are one of the most suitable solutions you can ever have! Such a foundation can raise your property’s height about 1- 3 feet above the ground level and offers natural insulation to your home.

What this means is, that you will get all the benefits of a well-insulated basement, but at a much lower cost and is much less labor-intensive. The only drawback of a crawl space foundation lies in the fact that it accommodates a separate space to

Some people also make use of the crawl space foundation for laying plumbing and electrical fixtures. However, you should avoid keeping items stored in cardboard boxes, as they become vulnerable to moisture damage.

Wrapping It Up

Are you looking around for a new home builder in Canada who can design a customized home right from its foundation? Visit Bellamy Homes and make your wishes come true. They are one of the best Kelowna contractors, who can rightfully assess your plot, and apply effective strategies to lay the foundation that best suits your purpose and preference!

No matter what happens, the foundation of your home has to be strong enough to make your investments worth it.