Cutting Foundation Corners Can Be Costly

Mistakes poured into the foundation of your dream house can become a financial nightmare, costing you thousands of dollars to repair mistakes after your house is built. So getting the foundation of your house built correctly the first time means not only cost savings for you immediately but also down the road when the house is resold.

That’s why general contractor and concrete specialist Gayle Edmondson says, “This is not the place to scrimp on cost, either on materials or the design.” (Edmondson owns Edmondson Construction in San Francisco’s East Bay. Before completing almost 400 houses in California and Oklahoma, he worked for a concrete contractor for five years.) 

Because everything needs to be plumb and level, pouring the concrete isn’t the hard part. It’s the grading and site preparation, and working with the steel reinforcement bars, or rebar, that are difficult. “A foundation needs to be engineered,” explains Edmondson. “You’re spending big money on your house, so don’t be afraid to invest some dollars in your foundation.”

Save Money by Paying for Experience

“You need to do whatever your civil engineer says to do when it comes to foundations,” cautions Edmondson. “But remember, ‘the cheaper the civil engineer, the more expensive the foundation.’” He’s referring to cheaper as in inexperienced. 

Established engineers with more experience will typically charge more for their services. When hiring a civil engineer, spending more on the experienced professional’s fee usually translates into a foundation that is structurally sound without unnecessary reinforcements. You may spend more on the fee but you’ll save money overall. 

So when you’re asking for bids, don’t forget to check out each engineer’s credentials and make a mental note of how much experience they have designing residential foundations. “Because of liability issues and insurance costs, the inexperienced engineer will be driven to design more of a foundation than you need to protect himself.” 

Edmondson learned this the hard way: “Twenty years ago, I did a spec house with a young engineer who was cheap. I saved $1,500 over the other more experienced engineer, but the foundation cost me $50,000 more than it should have!” 

The Rule Is No Rules 

Does every house need a structural engineer? Absolutely not. You may be building in an area that has few requirements to prepare the soil. Your lot may be level, and you can build a basement or a slab without too much concern about shifting soil or drainage problems. But most lots are not level. Many beautiful sites with or without views are sloped, and soil conditions below the surface require some science to understand them. 

The general rule for foundations is—there are no rules. Just like building codes and labor costs, foundations are different for each region or even across the street. “A ‘standard’ foundation is half-inch rebar with 2,500 psi [pounds per square inch], which is five sacks of cement per yard of concrete,” explains Edmondson. 

“But there’s really no such thing as a ‘standard’ foundation, because my house may require the standard half-inch, 2,500 psi, but across the street, your house may need one-inch [rebar] and seven sacks of concrete.” 

Options and Relative Costs 

Are there retaining walls? Generally speaking, a hillside foundation costs two to three times the cost of a foundation on a flat lot, and an upslope is very expensive. Building on a level site is hard enough to get square, but a slope is extremely difficult. “That’s why you need to work with your local builder,” says Edmondson. “If you’re in an area where it’s easy, basements are nice because of the added space.” 

If you’re considering a crawl space, you might want to consider spending a little more money on a full basement. This is the cheapest space to build in your house, and it’s something you can finish later if it’s not in your budget when you break ground. “But if a basement is prohibitive cost-wise,” says Edmondson, “a slab may be the answer.” However, slabs move around on expansive soils, so a pier-and-grade-beam solution will work. As the ground shifts, the foundation remains stable. 

Don’t Phone It In 

Be sure your foundation contractor is “on the level.” Rely on referrals from people you can trust, whether it’s friends, another contractor, or the local lumber yard. “This is essential to building a sound foundation,” says Edmondson. “You need an experienced professional who really knows what they’re doing.” 

But not everybody follows this common-sense advice. “I live in an area where people spend $80,000 to $100,000 on a car. They won’t just take it to anybody. They have to go to the dealer or their favorite mechanic. But for a million-dollar home, they’ll hire somebody out of the phone book!” 

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