Basement foundation / Discussions

What foundation is best for a cottage on an island?

...basement in our opinion would be - a super insulated raft slab (frost protected shallow foundation) on top of which would be ICF block foundation

Posted by Ben Barr Aug. 11, 2025 Foundation choices 1 response

What's the ideal concrete thickness for concrete slab floors?

...Foundation: This concrete floor is not intended as a structural slab foundation. Should I directly design it as a traditional slab foundation? In this case, the thickness would be around 4-to-6 inches. Floor Sandwich Structure: I'd like to understand how the layers of the floor system should be structured for this part...

Posted by Abdulkadir Al-Jazari March 28, 2025 Basements

What's cheaper for total building costs, slab on grade or basement?

...basement for TOTAL cost. While i know SOG is cheaper than basement, i can do 750 sq ft on top of 750 sq ft basement with finishing in two years after concrete dries vs about 1200 sq. feet with SOG to accomodate our total needs. So my question is: is a 750 sq ft house on top of 750 ft basement cheaper than 1200 sq ft ho...

Posted by tony wolff Dec. 24, 2020 Foundations and Basements 1 response