02 Foundation

Choose a crawl space or a basement

If you elect to have a crawl space, you have a choice of block walls or poured walls. All of our basements are poured walls. For dependable structural integrity we use plenty of steel rebar and all poured walls are 4,000 psi concrete. 

All foundations include:

• Sump pit and pump
• Anchor bolts
• Stone and dirt backfill
• Poured pier pads and utility sleeves.

Standard Crawl Specifications - Abild Homes wants your home to be dry, comfortable and energy efficient. This starts when your foundation is built.

• Footers are installed below the local frost line and a minimum of three feet below grade to prevent heaving and movement. A stable foundation will help minimize movement of the structure and reduce drywall maintenance.
• Walls can be either concrete block or poured concrete. Both materials will ensure a stable foundation. If you are building with economy in mind, you will save money by asking for crawl space walls built of cement blocks. 
• Anchor Bolts - 1/2" anchor bolts a minimum of 7" to 12" into the concrete and placed 6' apart will help securely anchor your home to the foundation.
• Dampproofing - The exterior of the walls are sprayed with a protective water-resistance coating. Drainage tiles are installed inside and outside of the footers and are connected to the sump pit. The sump pump will force water out of the crawl space and into your storm drainage system. To further aid drainage, two feet of loose stone will be installed over the exterior tile.
• Interior Crawlspace Insulation - To help control the climate inside your new home, Abild Homes believes that controlling the climate in your crawl space will help. The inside of the crawl space walls will be sprayed with 1.5" of urethane insulation. Moisture will be minimized by installing two-to-four inches of gravel over the excavated ground and covering that with a 6-mil vapor barrier. The edges of the vapor barrier will overlap two feet. We also believe that one or two heat ducts in the crawl space will prevent water supply and drain lines from freezing and will help keep the floors warmer in the winter.

Basements

• Standard basement walls are 8' high.  Extended heights are optional.
• Footers are placed well below the frost line and are 24" wide and 12" thick. Steel rebar is installed in the footers.
• Walls are always built of poured concrete with steel rebar reinforcement for additional stability.
• Anchor Bolts - 1/2" anchor bolts a minimum of 7" to 12" into the concrete and placed 6' apart will help securely anchor your home to the foundation.
• Waterproofing is applied to the exterior of the basement walls. Standard waterproofing is a "tar" based product. Additional protection is available by using spray on products and/or plastic sheathing.
• The basement floor is made of 4" of concrete with fiber mesh reinforcement installed over a stone base which is covered with a 6-mil vapor barrier.  The fiber mesh helps control deterioration caused by cracking and the vapor barrier retards moisture infiltration making your basement drier.