Upon this Rock: The foundation

(Retro Post)

The foundation and basement of the house took a couple of months. We were nervous, as it was critical that the basement measure exactly to the print in order for the house to fit. unlike a traditional house, the kit measurements were non-negotiable and there was little margin for error.

Enter in Superior Surfaces. Keith and his crew have been doing a lot of work on our house. All the site work and earth moving, the foundations, basement walls, and concrete flatwork (floor in basement and soon to be the walkout patio) have been their work. While we did have a few delays due to summer being the busy season for them, they did a really really beautiful job. When it was all said and done and we stretched the tape to measure, it was right on the money.

The basement walls are block, with filled courses and rebar in every several feet and horizontal steel bracing at the grade line all around. It has two coats of waterproofing tar, dimple board, and sand backfill at the wall. It is draining as designed very well. Hopefully we’ll never need the sump pump, but of course it is installed just in case. We also had to put in a sewage ejection pit and pump to allow for a half bath in the basement, as the septic outlet is higher than the basement floor.

The floor plan of the basement includes a very large workshop for T, the half bath, a utility room for all the HVAC and plumbing appliances, and a cellar. There is also a somewhat awkward space under the entryway that we are turning into a storage closet. The rest of the basement will remain open space.