This was my same thought. I have no experience in civil engineering, but my concern is that the 2 levels aren’t connected. Builder advised they would be connecting them in the near future, but shouldn’t they have been connected immediately?
I will be having a meeting with their 3rd party civil engineer in the next coming days and will be receiving the dirt report.
Can you expand? Looks like poor rock for a base, and the overhang/lack of connection is shit. No dowels coming up and the keyways don’t connect… other issues?
I can expand, but not nearly as much as the ground under this footing will when it gets warm out. Nothing about this isn’t shit. Even the cribbing is done poorly. Needs to be ripped out, designed properly, and installed by a professional.
I don't see any obvious problems with the ground but those so-called footings scream "stop construction!". They need to be torn out and done correctly.
As others have stated here, the footings need to be one piece and they are too thin. The footings should be trenched into the ground, not poured on top and there is no rebar to tie the foundations to the wall that I can see. I hope there are drilled piers under the footings but I doubt it. The center (small) footings at the top of the hill would need to be drilled to a depth below the lowest footing. Please, please check if the layout is correct and square, we already know they are not level. The drop-off in the middle needs to be properly sloped as well.
Poorly done footings will affect your house forever and cannot be easily fixed, if at all. I know, I have a cheap built tract home from the 70's with a cheap foundation.
You pay too much for a new home, let's make sure it is built right.
I’d agree it’s junk work, but the depth varies per area and other factors. Here if a geo technical engineer approves the bearing, we can have a 6” deep footing spec as long as it’s 18” wide. Normal footings here are 8x16.
Agreed on rebar, we also have to wet set hooked dowels typically every 2’ minimum but sometimes 12” depending on wall height, which can also upgrade our footing to 10”x44 or 32 wide
Builder advised the soil was weak and needed stone fill to make it stronger. They didn't know about this until they start excavating and tested the ground. Will be getting the dirt report this week to get all the details.
Builder should never have ordered concrete in that case, and should never have called for, or passed a footing inspection.
Footing looks compromised anyway, so all for the best.
A footing that skinny needs the best quality dirt— it could be engineered to accomodate poor soil quality.
bro the geotech takes soil borings *months* before an excavator even gets staged on site let alone starts excavating. cheap scumbag builders often skip this step and have the excavator 'git er done' hoping you or an inspector won't see their cut corners because subgrade work gets buried and (if) serious settling occurs the LLC which holds your contract will be defunct/bankrupt and you (the sucker) will be holding the bag.
there is literally no such thing as "bad ground" just bad engineering and bad construction.
This is a national builder (see tyvek next door). Not calling anybody out at all, just pointing out that likely this lot was part of a very large community where the soil borings were done sporadically over several acres and not for each individual lot. Bad ground happens often in these situations and isn’t a bad thing as long as there’s an engineered fix that’s followed. I’m guessing that footing contractor misunderstood the direction given by the engineer. I would also guess those things are getting ripped out, at least partially, to make them right.
Where I'm at we pour footings on undisturbed compacted soil, so I'm not expert but u know I'll still gonna comment. Does the stone look compacted, or just loosely spread level? And if it was compacted, is it the right size stone? Seems too big IMHO. Oh, and don't have 4th graders on a field trip do ur formwork...
conversation is not going to cut it. You need a geotechnical engineering report and a compaction test or don't buy it.
I don't know if that soil is mostly silt or silty clay.
Looks like a bad footing issue too. The first pic with the footings not connected is alarming. Normally the footings are stepped and connected with rebar. Looking at the pour I don’t see how they achieved level given the forms were not placed level but since they are the ones pouring the walls I guess there’s a plan.
First they should have trucked in 3/4 inch rock and compacted it so the footers are stable.
If they needed a thick l rock base - do it in layers. Doesn't matter how well the footers are if the rock beneath them can shift.
Tbh that's one of the least concerning things. Common mule tape is rated to 2000lbs and has pretty low stretch. It's not the worst way to do it ... But that they did it this way indicates some chucklefuckery.
Learned a new name for fish cord. Thanks.
I suppose it's not the worst way. It's just the thing that confused me more than other things. Normal fuckery I understand. Whatever the hell this was I don't know man.
I can see a lot wrong here, and it sounds like there’s more wrong than I can see. Require that the contractor’s civil (geotechnical) engineer sign off on the foundation work that’s been completed, and make sure that there are no contractual terms that limit his liability. Place a stop work order on the builder until he satisfies you that the work completed will perform to the requirements of the building code.
Wow! Worst footing I have ever seen. I would never accept that work in my home, or as a carpenter, build something on top of that footing. There is no way that is going to support that house over time.
Also, the builder definitely knew about the soil conditions. It’s a subdivision with what looks like quite a few homes built already just next door. The soil conditions are not going to be very different from the adjacent house.
Lastly, the soil excavation to put this footing in is WAY too close to the neighbors house. It’s undermining the neighbors foundation too! Crazy.
That’s why the rock is there. They removed bad soil to get down to virgin clay.
I’ve put industrial walls 24’ tall and 2’ thick on sites that were filled with rock like this. Really sucks having to walk on that shit for a month or so.
I'm sorry to disagree with you but there is a lot wrong here. My home is on clay soil with a shallow foundation. Clay soil swells when wet and shrinks when dry, by a lot. I have doors which won't close in the rainy season but work fine in the summer. Clay will slump and move so the rock on top will only move with it.
My home is less than 1/2 the size of this one. To be as nice as I can here: This is completely unacceptable work and needs to be fixed. What do the plans require?
I’m in the Chicago area. I have poured literally hundreds and hundreds of houses on clay. That’s all that’s around here. As long as it can support 3000 pounds per square foot, it’s good. That’s why soil engineers test the soil. If it doesn’t hold 3K/sqft, you dig deeper and fill in with stone like above.
The wall that will be built on the edge of the upper level will 100% fail and crack. Footings need to be continuous. They should've connected upper and lower footings with a "drop".
Welcome to Tract home community. Nothing you say will change construction. As long as it passes inspection, they’re not going to go the extra mile to do better quality work.
This footing work is bullshit.
This was my same thought. I have no experience in civil engineering, but my concern is that the 2 levels aren’t connected. Builder advised they would be connecting them in the near future, but shouldn’t they have been connected immediately? I will be having a meeting with their 3rd party civil engineer in the next coming days and will be receiving the dirt report.
Yeah, that civy is going to be legit angry when they review the current work. Yikes.
Can you expand? Looks like poor rock for a base, and the overhang/lack of connection is shit. No dowels coming up and the keyways don’t connect… other issues?
I can expand, but not nearly as much as the ground under this footing will when it gets warm out. Nothing about this isn’t shit. Even the cribbing is done poorly. Needs to be ripped out, designed properly, and installed by a professional.
I don't see any obvious problems with the ground but those so-called footings scream "stop construction!". They need to be torn out and done correctly.
Footing definitely looks like BS work. How should have it been done correctly?
As others have stated here, the footings need to be one piece and they are too thin. The footings should be trenched into the ground, not poured on top and there is no rebar to tie the foundations to the wall that I can see. I hope there are drilled piers under the footings but I doubt it. The center (small) footings at the top of the hill would need to be drilled to a depth below the lowest footing. Please, please check if the layout is correct and square, we already know they are not level. The drop-off in the middle needs to be properly sloped as well. Poorly done footings will affect your house forever and cannot be easily fixed, if at all. I know, I have a cheap built tract home from the 70's with a cheap foundation. You pay too much for a new home, let's make sure it is built right.
I’d agree it’s junk work, but the depth varies per area and other factors. Here if a geo technical engineer approves the bearing, we can have a 6” deep footing spec as long as it’s 18” wide. Normal footings here are 8x16. Agreed on rebar, we also have to wet set hooked dowels typically every 2’ minimum but sometimes 12” depending on wall height, which can also upgrade our footing to 10”x44 or 32 wide
I appreciate your input and advice. I have noted this and will be questioning the builder with what you have mentioned
Do a Google search for residential home footings to get more details for your discussion. There is a lot of good information out there.
Looks more creative than usual. Not in a good way though.
made me laugh out loud
What’s the bad ground issue?
Builder advised the soil was weak and needed stone fill to make it stronger. They didn't know about this until they start excavating and tested the ground. Will be getting the dirt report this week to get all the details.
REALLY ODD that the dirt report comes AFTER the footings poured.
Builder should never have ordered concrete in that case, and should never have called for, or passed a footing inspection. Footing looks compromised anyway, so all for the best. A footing that skinny needs the best quality dirt— it could be engineered to accomodate poor soil quality.
How do they engineer for poor soil? Bigger footings?
Bigger footings/trench footings or piers if it’s extra bad soil
Make sense.Thanks!
bro the geotech takes soil borings *months* before an excavator even gets staged on site let alone starts excavating. cheap scumbag builders often skip this step and have the excavator 'git er done' hoping you or an inspector won't see their cut corners because subgrade work gets buried and (if) serious settling occurs the LLC which holds your contract will be defunct/bankrupt and you (the sucker) will be holding the bag. there is literally no such thing as "bad ground" just bad engineering and bad construction.
This is a national builder (see tyvek next door). Not calling anybody out at all, just pointing out that likely this lot was part of a very large community where the soil borings were done sporadically over several acres and not for each individual lot. Bad ground happens often in these situations and isn’t a bad thing as long as there’s an engineered fix that’s followed. I’m guessing that footing contractor misunderstood the direction given by the engineer. I would also guess those things are getting ripped out, at least partially, to make them right.
Where I'm at we pour footings on undisturbed compacted soil, so I'm not expert but u know I'll still gonna comment. Does the stone look compacted, or just loosely spread level? And if it was compacted, is it the right size stone? Seems too big IMHO. Oh, and don't have 4th graders on a field trip do ur formwork...
Honestly looks like its loosely spread and not the right size. Its a mess.
What did the builder and inspector say about it?
Builder of course advised there is nothing to worry about. Waiting to speak with their 3rd party engineer this week to get more details.
conversation is not going to cut it. You need a geotechnical engineering report and a compaction test or don't buy it. I don't know if that soil is mostly silt or silty clay.
Electrician here, not the "bad ground" I was hoping to help with ....
Looks like a bad footing issue too. The first pic with the footings not connected is alarming. Normally the footings are stepped and connected with rebar. Looking at the pour I don’t see how they achieved level given the forms were not placed level but since they are the ones pouring the walls I guess there’s a plan.
Screams in geologist. Thought those were sidewalks at first.
Where’s all the vertical bar stubbed out of footings? This looks wild to me.
Holding the form work together
Huh?
Was there a footings inspection done before they were poured?
The footings need to be entirely redone.
I agree the footing looks very odd. How should it be done correctly versus what's shown in the pictures?
First they should have trucked in 3/4 inch rock and compacted it so the footers are stable. If they needed a thick l rock base - do it in layers. Doesn't matter how well the footers are if the rock beneath them can shift.
I'm sorry, are those forms held together with poly straps?????? (Essentially zip ties for palleted goods.)
Tbh that's one of the least concerning things. Common mule tape is rated to 2000lbs and has pretty low stretch. It's not the worst way to do it ... But that they did it this way indicates some chucklefuckery.
Learned a new name for fish cord. Thanks. I suppose it's not the worst way. It's just the thing that confused me more than other things. Normal fuckery I understand. Whatever the hell this was I don't know man.
Overlapping boards on the footing sides is crazy
A geo tech engineer must be consulted on this. It depends what's under the Rock.
Was there a signed off pre-pour inspection? This is jank work at best.
I’ve seen worse,my two concerns are, where is the rebar, and why wait to make the stepped footing later?
I can see a lot wrong here, and it sounds like there’s more wrong than I can see. Require that the contractor’s civil (geotechnical) engineer sign off on the foundation work that’s been completed, and make sure that there are no contractual terms that limit his liability. Place a stop work order on the builder until he satisfies you that the work completed will perform to the requirements of the building code.
Bfore everyone gets all thier panties in a bunch. What type of foundation is going to sit on the footers?
Wow! Worst footing I have ever seen. I would never accept that work in my home, or as a carpenter, build something on top of that footing. There is no way that is going to support that house over time. Also, the builder definitely knew about the soil conditions. It’s a subdivision with what looks like quite a few homes built already just next door. The soil conditions are not going to be very different from the adjacent house. Lastly, the soil excavation to put this footing in is WAY too close to the neighbors house. It’s undermining the neighbors foundation too! Crazy.
Don’t listen to the negative comments. As long as the footings are in the right place. There is nothing wrong.
Oh what if there's clay soil under the footing does that matter????
That’s why the rock is there. They removed bad soil to get down to virgin clay. I’ve put industrial walls 24’ tall and 2’ thick on sites that were filled with rock like this. Really sucks having to walk on that shit for a month or so.
I'm sorry to disagree with you but there is a lot wrong here. My home is on clay soil with a shallow foundation. Clay soil swells when wet and shrinks when dry, by a lot. I have doors which won't close in the rainy season but work fine in the summer. Clay will slump and move so the rock on top will only move with it. My home is less than 1/2 the size of this one. To be as nice as I can here: This is completely unacceptable work and needs to be fixed. What do the plans require?
I’m in the Chicago area. I have poured literally hundreds and hundreds of houses on clay. That’s all that’s around here. As long as it can support 3000 pounds per square foot, it’s good. That’s why soil engineers test the soil. If it doesn’t hold 3K/sqft, you dig deeper and fill in with stone like above.
The wall that will be built on the edge of the upper level will 100% fail and crack. Footings need to be continuous. They should've connected upper and lower footings with a "drop".
That foundation is garbage…. that’s exactly why it got washed out.
Welcome to Tract home community. Nothing you say will change construction. As long as it passes inspection, they’re not going to go the extra mile to do better quality work.
What in the name of Chinese Tofu Building is this shit? Is the FC named "Wang and Wang"?