How To Look At A House
McGarry and Madsen's home inspection blog for buyers of
site-built, mobile/manufactured and modular homes
What is the minimum depth below ground of the foundation of a house, for either monolithic thickened edge slab or stemwall footing?
Friday, May 31, 2019
The minimum depth is 12-inches below undisturbed ground per the Residential Edition of the Florida Building Code (FBC R403.1.4) and the International Residential Code.
This applies to perimeter footings and, in climates colder than Florida, depth must be extended to below the frost line or protected from frost by another method per R403.1.4.1. The top surface of the footing should be level and the bottom not have more than a 10% (1 in 10) slope per R403.1.5.
Also, see our blog posts What are the pros and cons of concrete block versus wood frame construction? and What is the average lifespan of a house foundation? and What are the common problems of different types of house foundations? and What are the places to look for structural cracks in a house?
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To learn more about exterior walls and structures, see these other blog posts:
• What causes vertical cracks in fiber cement siding planks?
• What causes raised white lines of residue on a block wall that are crusty and crumbling?
• What is the difference between soil subsidence, heave, creep, and settlement?
• How much ventilation is required for the under-floor crawl space of a home?
• What causes stair-step cracks in a block or brick wall?
• What causes a horizontal crack in a block or brick wall?
• What causes the surface of old bricks to erode away into sandy powder?
• Should I buy a house with a crawl space?
• There's cracks running along the home's concrete tie beam. What's wrong?
• What would cause long horizontal lines of brick mortar to fall out?
• How do I recognize structural problems in a retaining wall?
• What is engineered wood siding?
• Should I buy a house that has had foundation repair?
• What is a "continuous load path”?
• Should I buy a house with asbestos siding?
• How can I tell if cracks in the garage floor are a problem or not?
• What do you look for when inspecting vinyl siding?
• Why is housewrap installed on exterior walls under the siding?
• How do I recognize serious structural problems in a house?
• Why did so many concrete block homes collapse in Mexico Beach during Hurricane Michael?
• Should I buy a house with structural problems?
• What are those powdery white areas on my brick walls?
• What causes cracks in the walls and floors of a house?
• How can I tell if the exterior walls of a house are concrete block (CBS) or wood or brick?
• What are the warning signs of a dangerous deck?
Visit our STRUCTURE AND ROOMS page for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.
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