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I am planning to build a home in NW Wisconsin. I have been looking into using a precast concrete foundation. They seem like a good way to go: High strength (5000 psi) concrete, cured under controlled conditions, well insulated, and they go up quick. The manufacturers indicate that you don’t even need a footer, other than a solid bed of crushed rock.
I have yet to read anything negative about these foundations. Please share your experiences with these systems, positive and negative.
The system I am looking at uses 15 ft. panels which are bolted together at the top and bottom, with a couple beads of caulk in between. This is supposed to create a watertight seal. Anybody had leaking problems from a system like this?
I appreciate any input.
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Paul:
There have been several quarries lately for this info. Unfortianately, there doesn't seem to be a resident expert (yet) You may want to search the archives using the word "Precast".
*Paul, I belive that this is the ripple of a much bigger wave.It is a "natural" evolution due to the fact; It is an engineered product. Given the need to establish proven installations, I would imagine the company would have a rep on site to maintain integrity. Regards, Rick
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Paul:
I only know of one residential foundation done like this (its quite common in commercial). The main knock was that the deck had to be set and basement poured prior to backfilling to keep panels from shifting, which is not the best situation from a labor efficiency standpoint. Perhaps there are other systems which don't require this, but I would certainly want to know before pursuing further.
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This is second hand info, but to second what John said, a grader subcontractor I used said that when he backfilled one of these precast foundations, although he was very carefull during the backfill process, they had trouble with the panels shifting.
In this case, the house had an attached garage. The garage foundation was as deep as the basement, and the garage portion needed to be backfilled on both sides of the foundation wall. It kept shifting out of proper alignment. Not sure what the outcome was.
He also told me that they are now selling crawlspace foundations as well as basements.
Also, a good friend of mine is a salesmen for Surewall (sp?). Of course, he's not going to let go of the info on the "little" problems, but he has told me that a company rep is on site during the foundation installation.
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I am planning to build a home in NW Wisconsin. I have been looking into using a precast concrete foundation. They seem like a good way to go: High strength (5000 psi) concrete, cured under controlled conditions, well insulated, and they go up quick. The manufacturers indicate that you don't even need a footer, other than a solid bed of crushed rock.
I have yet to read anything negative about these foundations. Please share your experiences with these systems, positive and negative.
The system I am looking at uses 15 ft. panels which are bolted together at the top and bottom, with a couple beads of caulk in between. This is supposed to create a watertight seal. Anybody had leaking problems from a system like this?
I appreciate any input.