Clay soil is one of the most supporting materials that help keep the foundations of different residential and commercial buildings strong and durable. It has unique characteristics, but it also comes with a few challenges so you must know how to pick the best foundation for clay soil to keep your building intact for a longer period.
Here are a few tips and ways mentioned that can help you choose the best foundation for clay soil.
- Type
It depends upon the type and size of your home that what foundation will be suitable for clay soil. The foundation you choose must be able to bear the weight of the load. If you don’t take this factor into account, you will have to face a lot of issues later. You can ask your home designer to recommend a few good options according to your home type. However, if you choose a different foundation for clay soil that is not included in the list provided by the designer, you must first confirm whether it can support the structure or not.
- Groundwater
If you want your chosen foundation for the clay soil to work perfectly well in the long run, you should make sure that the foundation remains dry. The groundwater shouldn’t have access to the foundation; otherwise, it won’t be a sound foundation. You can carry out a ‘perc test’ for your clay soil before you start building a home to see whether it can percolate water through it properly or not. If the clay soil passes the test, you won’t have to face any groundwater problems with your foundation.
- Professional Service
You can hire a professional service as well to help you find the best foundation for clay soil. Other than perc test, a professional engineering company or service can have a soil test as well to determine the type, quality, moisture content, and other qualities of clay soil. If your clay soil passes this test, it will set you free from all the worries of your foundation going wrong.
- Moisture
The foundation you choose for clay soil must be moisture-free. You can also take precautionary measures beforehand if you want to keep the excess moisture away from your foundation, e.g. installing drainage pad. You can also consult with your hired contractor on this to end up with the best foundation solution for clay soil. The other best thing to do is install a layer of polyethylene sheet between the foundation and drainage pad to block out the soil gases as well. It will also help improve the air quality of your home.
- Depth
The clay soil can expand and shrink that might put extra pressure on the foundation. The foundation you choose must be able to deal with the sudden extreme changes of soil. It is recommended to dig the foundation to a minimum depth of 1m where the moisture content of clay soil remains stable. However, if there are trees nearby, the minimum depth should be 3m.
