1985-10-19 Construction Soil Conditions

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Mr. John Lanier October 19, 1984 Page 2 There is no evidence of settlement of the existing foundation nor any problems related to frost. The existing siding was placed on the house at least 17 years ago and if this type of problem existed the siding should be buckling or separating at the juncture with the original house. The heat in the crawl space underneath the present addition prevents the soils at the exterior wall from freezing due to circulation of warm inside air. CONCLUSION In our opinion, there has been no problem with the existing footings due to frost penetration. As long as the crawl space Is left open to the heated area of the basement, we do not foresee any frost problems with respect to the present footings. In our opinion, from a soils standpoint. It would not be necessary to extend the footings to frost depth at this time. RECOMMENDATIONS To conserve energy we recommend that Insulation be installed on the exterior of the foundation wall. The insulation should also extend beyond the edge of the footing approximately 2’ to minimize heat loss from the present structure. This should also minimize the possibility of frost penetrating below the existing footings. The Insulation selected should not absorb water. Insulation should not be put on the inside face of the wall since this could shield the foundation soils from the heat source which has prevented them from freezing in the past. Insulation could be placed at the top of the block wall between the floor Joists to prevent heat loss in this area of the crawl space. We recommend that where concentrated loads will be carried down through your present structure from the proposed addition, at least 3* by 3' concrete pads which are a minimum of 12** in thickness should be cast below the present footing level. These pads should be a minimum of 42" below the present grade which will result in pads approximately 18" In thickness. We