Red Suspenders Timber Frames

Building the Foundation

Foundation Basics:

Timber frame structures can be built over almost any modern foundation from post-tension slab to a walk out basement. Crawl space over post-tension slab offers some significant advantages as they put the home well above grade and provide space beneath the floor for HVAC and other mechanical systems. Site preparation is very important to insure the home sits well above grade to avoid moisture problems. The home in Argyle was built as a crawl space over post-tension slab. The crawl space is home to three HVAC air-handlers, electrical wiring and plumbing.

	Your General Contractor (GC) is responsible for building the foundation at your building site and he will most likely work with a local foundation subcontractor. Make sure that you have your foundation plans checked by a local foundation engineer so that your GC will know how many piers will be required to support the foundation. Considering your site soil conditions, your foundation engineer may request soil testing to make his final determination.
	This site has already been prepared for a foundation. Notice that the ground has been built up and smoothed and that several forms have been placed to define the side of the slab. This is called a pad site. This pad was built up to place the home above grade (the natural level of the building site). Placing the home well above grade greatly minimizes moisture intrusion and other potential foundation problems.
	This particular home will have a post-tension slab with a concrete block wall to form a crawl space under the floor. You can see the reinforcing steel sticking up around the perimeter of the slab. The crawl space will house all of the utilities of the home including the HVAC air handlers and electrical wiring. The crawl space will be air-conditioned to control moisture intrusion.
The foundation is almost complete in this image and the sub-floor has been installed. You can see that the sub-floor is about three feet above the foundation, resting on the perimeter wall and additional piers throughout the slab. We have already delivered the frame and parts of it are laid out on the sub-floor You can see that the first bent has already been assembled. We are ready to raise the frame.