Footings and foundations are to homes what feet and legs are to the human body: footings anchor the home to the ground and support the foundation, which in turn carries the weight of the home.
Although foundations have been made from a number of materials — stone, block and even treated wood — reinforced concrete is used in the vast majority of new homes. The contractor erects wooden forms, installs steel reinforcing bars (“rebar”) between the form faces, then fills the forms with poured concrete. After the concrete sets, the forms are removed.
A foundation is the startup material for any given project. Without a firm and robust foundation, one cannot have any advanced work done because the foundation serves as the elementary part and the guidance to that foundation forms the intermediary. We all know that while building a house, the first thing that is constructed is the foundation of the house. Have you ever wondered why people go through so many troubles and spend a significant amount of construction time in building the foundation of the house?
Building the foundation first is not just a construction tradition. The reason why this is done is that the foundation becomes the base of the house and makes it stand tall for years to come! If the foundation is weak, it can make the entire house crumble like a sandcastle easily. Strong foundations of houses lead to stronger, modern, advanced metropolitan cities of the future and improve the standard of living of a country’s citizens!
Why Houses Need A Strong Foundation?
The foundation of a house is built to transform its weight or load to the earth to generate a higher level of stability and firmness. Therefore, it must be able to hold its weight and provide a leveled, flat base on which construction can take place!
There are some things that need to be taken care of when building a house’s foundation. If not done properly, these things can be the cause of major issues in the future. Some reasons to build stronger foundations include:
If your foundation is very close to the ground, it is at risk of rusting and corrosion, especially if you live near to sea shores or coastal areas. Once the foundation starts rusting, it spreads throughout the frame of the house, making it weak. Therefore, to prevent your foundation from rusting, it is advised that you use AMMAN-TRY’s Corrosion-Resistant steel bars (CRS) for construction. The CRS (Corrosion Resistant steel) bars provide many advantages over traditionally used TOR steel such as:
- No twisting operations involved in its production, therefore no residual stresses are present in the steel bars, increasing its corrosion resistance ability.
- Because they go through Thermo-mechanical treatments, they become highly resistant to corrosion and rust, making them suitable to be used in the construction of houses in coastal regions, bridges, dams, flyover, etc.!
Another reason why the foundation needs extra attention is that it is at the very base of the house. If something goes wrong with the foundation, you will have a hard time fixing it once the construction of the house is complete. It is very important to know how to build a foundation of the house stronger if you want your house to survive through climatic changes and stand strong for decades.
1. Keep in mind the soil type
The type of soil you are constructing upon plays a huge role in the construction process. You cannot hope to use the same material on every soil type as the house will not be of the same durability either. You need to choose foundation material according to the type of soil. The rebar (steel used as rods in the foundation) should also be spaced and laid out according to the soil.
2. Make sure the rebar is not too close to the soil
Rebar (reinforced steel bars) are placed inside a block of concrete. The concrete should at least be more than 4 inches thick at the base when you place the rebar in it. This creates some distance between the ground and the steel inside the concrete. If your rebar is nearer to the ground, it is at risk of rusting. Once rust creeps into the rebar, it can spread throughout the rebar system and make the foundation week.
Therefore using TMT bars for this purpose is highly recommended! One example of good quality and reliable TMT bars are the AMMAN-TRY TMT bars. They provide high strength and ductility to the constructed structure. They come in different sizes including 6mm, 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, 16mm, 20mm, and 25mm.
Here are a few advantages that the AMMAN-TRY TMT bars offer:
- They are very ductile as well as bendable in nature which helps in the creation of pre-welded meshes, reducing a lot of fabrication time and hence, the construction time.
- They are resistant to high temperatures, and can thus provide safety to the structure against fire.
- TMT bars have a soft, perlite core, which makes them highly resistant to earthquakes.
- They are also resistant to corrosion, as mentioned previously.
- They are very weldable, which is why it is easy to work with them.
- They come at very economical prices.
3. The layout of the foundation and slab is important
The foundation should be of equal length and size in order to take the weight of the house. You should ensure that the concrete blocks that make the foundation are square and layed out strategically.
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4. Make sure there is no water in the concrete
When you build the foundation, you need to make sure the water evaporates completely from the cement before you progress construction further. If you start constructing on moist cement, the water will get trapped inside and the foundation will remain weak. You need to keep checking the condition of the foundation regularly in order to maintain its strength, even till after years of its construction. Check the foundation for any cracks or water seepage from time to time and take the necessary actions to prevent it from damaging.
5. The bolts in the foundation are very important
The bolts that are fixed into the slab of the foundation play an important role in strengthening the foundation. They ensure that the frame sets perfectly and evenly on the foundation. If you fix bolts just for the sake of it, without paying attention to the position and making them flat, it can mess up the frame of your house.
6. Crawl space can make your foundation strong
Instead of slabs, you can also build a crawl space on top of the foundation beam to raise the house from the ground. These crawl space save the house from moisture and rust issues. These are less expensive than basements and slabs and allow easy plumbing and ductwork.
7. Use weatherproof material
Foundation can wither over time due to water exposure, weather changes, etc. because they are built inside the ground. You should apply a waterproof material over the foundation walls to protect it from such conditions.
These were the ways to build the foundation of your house strong. If you wish to ensure that your house is in perfect condition and secure to its very core, using AMMAN-TRY TMT steel bars is strongly recommended because of the number of advantages they offer. You can keep your house in perfect condition for years and years if you pay attention to such details in building its foundation.