Construction Contractors Community

Contractor Florida · Joined: 17 Aug 2009 Posts: 86 Location: Florida

As we all know, the first thing that needs to be built in any project is the footing, the foundation of the building. For this, the trenches need to be dug out and after that the concrete placed in the trenches according to the structural plans. One thing the homeowners need to understand is that the structure is the basis for the entire house, so any changes on the foundation will most definitely affect the entire project.

To give you an example, in one of my projects, from day one, the contractor started to change things like the thickness of the footings and stem walls, the concrete mix strength from 3,000 psi to 2,000 psi and even the elevation of the garage slab. The result? A catastrophe.

This contractor went as far as changing a structural detail when he was building the 1st floor cavity and he even showed up at the structural engineer's office one Monday morning to ask the engineer "to change the detail on his plans to show what he had built" because the inspector did not want to approve the floor the way he had built it. Needless to say, he got kicked out of the structural engineer's office pronto!

Annunziata · Joined: 12 Nov 2010 Posts: 1 Location: Italy

I believe you've got a point. It is absolutely true that whatever the structure might be, be it massive or tiny in size, it always requires a good, solid foundation. A solid foundation can save you lot of troubles. Pay attention to the nature of soil and landscape when building your foundation in a solid manner. Remember earthquakes, in vulnerable areas.

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Contractor Florida · Joined: 17 Aug 2009 Posts: 86 Location: Florida

Thank u annunziata for read my post and reply...

smear · Joined: 18 Jan 2012 Posts: 1 Location: canada

Usually the confusion is always there in between them in the constructing a building or after the construction, So it the best way to handle it first. But the best thing is that the contractors must hire the talented Engineers that could be able to find out any defect in the architecture to minimize defects chances after construction.