If you plan to build a new home, make sure you or your contractor don’t dig up the foundation. This can create big problems in the future and many homes today suffer from these types of problems.
Thousands, if not millions, of homes have been built in the past and suffer from poor soil compaction. The earth that was moved from one area to another was often not compacted as it should and this creates problems for the construction of foundations.
Worse than this is a building contractor or someone who works for the contractor who is digging the foundation of the house, without worrying about digging too much. If they dig up the foundation too much, they just put some dirt back on the bottom of the foundation pad and then walk a few times with their feet until it compacts or looks good.
Here’s what happens: The loose soil that will now be directly under the foundation of the structural foundation will compact only after the foundation has been poured from the weight of the house. This is something that most building inspectors can’t really check and soon the building inspector will approve the house and it will be ready to pour without the owner knowing the problems lurking.
What can you do if the contractor over-excavates the foundation pads before pouring the concrete? Instead of backfilling the foundation with loose soil, send a few yards of fill soil to the project and then use it to correct your mistakes.
Fill soil will compact better than regular soil and might even improve your foundation foundation. Remember, never backfill any base with loose soil unless it is re-compacted in some way.
