Info about Beaches
Foundations to Use in Building Your Beach Home
If you have a nice piece of ocean front property and you’re looking to build a home on top of it to enjoy the nice ocean views, the first thing you have to deal with is the home’s foundation. Before you can start sipping martinis and watching the sunset, you need to make sure your home doesn’t fall around you. Sand and the other ground substrates that are around beaches and shorelines are generally very unstable. Because of this, you will need to hire an architect who can come in, test the soil and tell you what kind of foundation support you need. If your house is going to be built on weak soil, fill, or ground that is susceptible to subsidence, one option you have is to build your home on a raft foundation.
Raft foundations are essentially large slabs of concrete that cover the entire area your house is being built on. It’s a “raft” that you home floats on above the weak soil, hence the name. There are several different types of rafts that can be used to support your home depending on the soil conditions you will be building on. If your home is light you can build your home on a light raft, which is less expensive and shallower compared to foundations for bigger homes
For buildings that are heavier and larger, deeper rafts are used than if the building is lighter. One type of these rafts is the beam and slab raft. A beam and slab raft sits right on the ground, with ribs sticking out above it. This is used in medium sized homes. If your home is very large, you will have to use a cellular raft. These are two level rafts that have beams between them to form hollow areas. They can extend as far down as a full basement level or more!
Visit the Beachfront Property Guide for more information and tips on building your dream beach home.