Building on Sandy Soil

Hi Curly, I built a house about 12 years ago for a fellow here in Northern Calif. on a "Sand Dune" It is a large 2 story, with 3 car garage. I do have pictures of the house, and have been there recently. The house seems to be fine.

The engineer architect designed a footing that was quite large and wide. It had additional rebar in the footing and more than a regular 2 story design. I actually had to build 2 forms for the concrete footing construction. One to keep the sand from filling the footing made out of inert material to be left in the pour.

As for a basement, there was none, and I suspect you would not have any problem with moisture since you will have good drainage being "sandy"

I believe the "Large Footprint" of the footing and the steel in the engineering of the footing made for a stable construction.

Thanks. I'll keep what you said in mind when I speak to a contractor.

Curly

As for the garage I would make sure that the walls were adequately water proofed, and there are many applications that will solve this. Moisture will "wick" in.......regardless of drainage, and like a sponge will absorb moisture and keep it there unless driven out by heat. So, a good water vapor barrier on the outside would be in line. jloomis

Was the structure designed by an engineer? Have you considered retaining an engineer to review the foundation? T

No.

Whatever it takes. I'm not looking to cut corners.

Curly

Ya know they make engineers for this stuff. T

Your safest bet would be to look around for a local civil engineer who will be familiar with the soils in your area. He or she can easily design/specify a footing and wall which will adequately support your structure, and take all the guesswork off your shoulders, a cheap investment with good return.

Good luck,

Jonathan