Dear Girl, To get the cheaps and hurries and, thereafter, blame the home designer, is a criminal fraud of intellect, a rock hard dishonesty.  This should get you, in this home designer's view, a permanent posting backed to the wall in the halls of Hell.  Before The Architect  2009

QUESTION: WHASSUP WITH HOUSE  FOUNDATION PROBLEMS?

ANSWER:  PRETTY NEAR NOTHING WITH A GOOD HOUSE FOUNDATION PLAN.

Concrete Foundation Plans Design and Construction, Closer

The extent of detail in the Concrete Foundation Plans home drawing hereunder is reflective of a Before The Architect Foundation Plans overall.  The home drawing to follow is a section in plan view of the full-sized Foundation Plans in Foundation Plans - Close hereunder.  You can see for yourself that details abound.  This home designer has never seen any home foundation design a close second for detail; however, it is this home designer's opinion that short of this close focus begs house concrete foundation problems down life's road.

It is respectfully suggested that, as with all the plans design workproduct of Before The Architect, especially with the Concrete Foundation Plans design (and the Electrical & Light Plans), that the related concrete foundation residential contractor and suppliers are brought to the home plan output sooner and not later.

Texted references to each of the 26 different markers follows –  

A = Elevation at head of exterior deck slab-on-grade relative to L1 (main floor) floor level, set 6 linear inches below L0 floor level 

B = L0 interior's floor level slab-on-grade relative to L1 floor level 

C = True masonry pilaster 

D= Pair of grade 50-#5 deformed rebar set across each foundation wall outside and reentrant, or inside, corner; exterior bars are epoxy-coated 

E = Reinforced, concrete, modified grade beam spread footing 

F= Reinforced, concrete, modified grade beam

G = Control, or contraction, joint . . . note, please that with most applications of control, or contraction joints, they’re centerlined on grade beams and modified grade beams for additional support.  There are two exceptions: one, no additional support when the joints are very short – who needs it; two off-centered where framing is planned to overrun a joint line along its axis.  This latter exception bears further explanation.  This custom home designer guidelines leveling-off control joints with special sealers, in order to smooth the slab-on-grade floor plans and to mitigate against leaking of sub-slab gas or moisture as joints open.  Indeed, the 2008 International Residential Code requires such sealing wherever radon mitigation is required by authorities having local jurisdiction.  Further, this home designer prefers leveling-off with sealant at the last possible moment before framing, which would not be possible if framing covers the joint.  It’s essentially about sealing, which can neither be done nor monitored with joints below bottom plates.  So, the joints get off-centered on grade beams and modified grade beams the alignments of which are on-center to load paths.

H = Reinforced, concrete grade beam 

I = Text and section in plan view of a reinforced, concrete grade beam spread footing  

J = Text alert to a concrete foundation residential contractor defining meaning and purpose of unusually formed, reinforced, concrete, modified grade beam spread footing (note that such foundation elements require a knowledge not only of L0 structure, but also L1 structure) 

K = Reinforced concrete thickened slab-on-grade below pool table . . . table has been sized to be playable in given space with certain-sized pool cues plus 1 linear foot extension at perimeters 

L = Expected orientation of L1 floor joists in this area, for which foundation as-drawn is intended to support 

M = Anchor bolts with 3x washers and hex nuts 

N = L1 floor level elevation 

O = Radon riser pipe piercing the L1 garage slab-on-grade with indication of direction pipe will take to recess in nearest wall frame

P = L1 and L0 garage floor levels at their respective points, each relative to L1 floor level . . . note that in both L1 Garage and L0 Workshop, the slab-on-grade elevation indicators decrease from heads of each at 1/8 linear inch to 1 linear foot 

Q = A passage, in which no anchor bolts  shall be set 

R = DWV stubs which are individually labeled and trailed within walls all the way to the attic . . . note the dimensional triangulation of each stub to reinforced concrete footing  inflections 

S = Centerpoints of stainless steel pegs set in concrete, to counter shear force on the posts in which they will be embedded 

T = Centerpoint in the centerline of ultimately framed wall behind the bar sink

U = Radon mitigation riser pipe stub to feed condensate and be fed sub-slab-on-grade gas . . . not that each such pipe shall be specifically labeled at each level in accord with code and a radon mitigation plans sheet and texted floor level sheets thereunder

 V = Typical, extensive note of materials and methods in regard to a foundation element, which note and its like are short enough to fit cleanly within foundation perimeters

 W = Reinforced concrete footing   

X = Reinforced concrete wall 

Y = Reinforced concrete wall interiors' sides of face dimensions to control, or contraction joints on-center lines 

Z = Reinforced concrete footing interiors' sides of face to intermediate element centerlines

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