Foundation installation in Orem UT - walls and slabs planned around water

Drainage keeps the push of the soil on your foundation walls close to what the walls were built to hold. Wet weather, changes to the house's systems or a rising water table can raise that pressure a lot, and water that gets in below ground is hard and expensive to fix once the project is finished. That's why we settle drainage and wall protection while the walls are still open.

Usually not, because cracks in concrete walls and slabs are common and most aren't a cause for alarm. Cracking can be cut down a lot and kept to planned lines with control joints, which are cuts that give the concrete a place to crack, but it can't be stopped entirely. I'd rather tell you that up front than have a hairline crack surprise you.

The City of Orem takes building permits online, so the application goes through an account you create in the city's online submittal system. After registering, you can check on the application and schedule or view inspections through the city's permit portal. If you're building without a general contractor, the city has an Owner-Builder Certification, though it isn't allowed on commercial projects. We check with the city before we schedule your job, and when a permit is called for, we handle the paperwork and set up inspections with you.

Yes, the Utah Geological Survey says problem soils across the state, such as expansive, compressible and collapsible soils, can do extensive damage to foundations. Collapsible soils are strong when dry but can settle a lot once water reaches them, and an older survey article names a rising shallow water table from high streams and lakes, heavy precipitation or too much irrigation as the major flooding hazard to basements. The survey's hazard maps only cover certain study areas, so a lot with no mapped data can still have hazards, which is one reason a soils report for your lot helps.

There's no single price, because it turns on the size of the building, the wall height and what your lot needs for digging and drainage. The place I'd steer you away from cutting is the drainage and wall protection, because they're buried on day one and they're the hardest part to add later. Your estimate lists each piece so you can see where the money goes.

Longer than the pour itself, because the foundation standards require the walls to be supported at the top and bottom, or braced, before any soil goes back against them. The concrete also needs curing time, the wait while it gains strength, before it carries much weight. The permit and the weather set the start date, and I'll walk you through the order of things at the estimate.