Cement foundation or treated wood foundation...

[cycosis]

I'll likely continue to have more questions from you all as I continue learning about homes.

I have come across both building methods. I would have thought in a climate such as ours that receives a good chunk of precipitation would lead one not to use wood for foundations. But Im finding a good chunk of the homes in the Shawnessy/Evergreen area have these.

Thoughts/experience with either?

[spikerS]

i wouldn't have a wooden foundation. ever. It would always be an impermeable material that doesn't rot.

[suntan]

Neither. I prefer CONCRETE.

[roopi]

Is there a price difference when building with wood over concrete?

I'd imagine concrete is more expensive. It's much easier to screw up a wood foundation to have years of problems. I'd pay the extra for the concrete.

[RealJimmyJames]

Originally posted by cycosis
... a climate such as ours that receives a good chunk of precipitation...

WTF? Calgary is a desert. Extremely dry. Are you talking about somewhere else?

[bjstare]

Never go with wood foundation, there's no good that can come of it. I would avoid buying a house with one for sure, and if you're building, it's a tiny incremental cost for concrete (percentage wise of total home cost).

[blairtruck]

any pics. ive never seen a wood foundation, always concrete.

[lilmira]

Are you sure those are not just wood form for the concrete foundation?

[ercchry]

It sounds insane to have wood in contact with soil

[cycosis]

Originally posted by RealJimmyJames


WTF? Calgary is a desert. Extremely dry. Are you talking about somewhere else?

Were you not around this summer with all the rain? I get that we dont have a lot of humidity and that we dont see months on end of rain like vancouver, but to say we are always completely dry is not accurate.


Originally posted by lilmira
Are you sure those are not just wood form for the concrete foundation?

Its a concrete pad with full treated wood walls.

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by cjblair
Never go with wood foundation, there's no good that can come of it. I would avoid buying a house with one for sure, and if you're building, it's a tiny incremental cost for concrete (percentage wise of total home cost).

There are plenty of 100+ year old homes in Calgary that have wood foundations.
While I agree with your point, The homes built 100 years ago lasted a lot longer than any new ones will last.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[revelations]

Originally posted by C_Dave45


There are plenty of 100+ year old homes in Calgary that have wood foundations.
While I agree with your point, The homes built 100 years ago lasted a lot longer than any new ones will last.

Probably because the wood treatment chemicals they used 100 years ago would be all cancer-causing :nut:

[sxtasy]

Originally posted by C_Dave45


There are plenty of 100+ year old homes in Calgary that have wood foundations.
While I agree with your point, The homes built 100 years ago lasted a lot longer than any new ones will last.
I'd be interested in seeing some examples of what you're talking about. I'm in restoration construction and have worked on mostly old buildings in Calgary recently. I haven't seen any wood foundations yet, just old sandstone foundations.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Originally posted by sxtasy

I'd be interested in seeing some examples of what you're talking about. I'm in restoration construction and have worked on mostly old buildings in Calgary recently. I haven't seen any wood foundations yet, just old sandstone foundations.

When a few Beyonders were volunteering doing cleanup in Mills Estate after the flood, the house we were working on was definitely on a wood-only foundation. Not sure of specific age, but it would have been an original building in that neighborhood. Sorry, didn't take any pics, but I'd assume that many houses in that area would have been built the same way. It was on New Street, if I remember correctly.

[ercchry]

Originally posted by BerserkerCatSplat


When a few Beyonders were volunteering doing cleanup in Inglewood after the flood, the house we were working on was definitely on a wood-only foundation. Sorry, didn't take any pics, but I'd assume that many houses in that area would have been built the same way.

Wasn't it just an old dug out with a subfloor?

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Originally posted by ercchry


Wasn't it just an old dug out with a subfloor?

Possibly, although I do remember vertical beams of some kind as it was a reasonably large dug out area and the house had to have been supported somehow. Maybe my memory was fuzzed by the sewage stench, that was nasty.

[ercchry]

It was a super weird diy basement reno for sure

[reijo]

PWF (Preserved Wood Foundations - the darker green lumber not simply stained) have been around for a while and have to be designed/stamped by an engineer. Before engineering school I worked on some (carpentry). They are in the Alberta Building Code and there are CMHC/CSA guidelines for how they are to be built.....e.g. drainage system, size of lumber/plywood to resist soil pressure (better than concrete in this regard incidentally!), treated materials, and the special poly wrap used on the outside to provide a moisture barrier, metal ties anchoring the lumber etc.

The biggest advantages are quick construction (wood framing) and better insulation e.g. wood and insulation vs. concrete ... also thinner/added space inside.

I have noticed those wood basements tend to be warmer.

Design life? 75 years just like a concrete basement.

Done properly (like anything) there is nothing wrong with them.

(yes, have built and designed them)

Cheers,

R

[reijo]

Here's some info on PWF via Goggle search:

http://www.townofunity.com/mrws/filedriver/preservedwoodguide.pdf

http://woodfoundations.com/

http://www.woodpreservation.ca/index.php/en/residential-use/permanent-wood-foundations

So there are a number of advantages ... even designwise and especially in our winter for construction (too cold and you cannot pour concrete and it can be damaged) and also for warmth, cheaper to heat etc.

So really nothing wrong with them and they won't crack ... unlike concrete.

I would check one over first (like any foundation for that matter) or even have an engineer look at it beforehand but would not hesitate buying one myself.

R

[leftwing]

I know that in the late 1800's early 1900's the water mains, and presumably services built in Calgary were made of wood. They probably weren't replaced until the 50's. The abandoned wood water mains that we uncover to this day are still carrying ground water and are not leaking. May not be as bad as you think.

[Dumbass17]

Originally posted by suntan
Neither. I prefer CONCRETE.
I think we are on the same page, you must be in construction or engineering. ;)

[90_Shelby]

I have a buddy with a rental property in Whitecourt. The house is ~ 20 years old and was built with a wood foundation. His tenants removed the down spout on the gutter, water leaked down beside the house, then froze in the winter causing massive damage. The exterior basement walls pushed in a couple of inches requiring that section of the foundation to be replaced. Huge headache and cost. I was shocked to hear that wood foundations existed in Alberta.

[bspot]

^ We had similar damage, but to our concrete foundation.

Oddly enough, the prescribed fix by an engineer was to build a wood foundation inside the concrete one. Now the concrete foundation can totally fail, and the wood one will be able to take the entire load of the house.

All my research said install and drainage was the biggest factor and they should have long lives.

For ours, I wasn't too worried as it's just a backup foundation, and inside the old foundation so very protected from moisture.

[jaylo]

We did an extensive research before purchasing our home with wood foundation. It was built by Cody Homes back in '89 and it is an infill lot and we had zero issues with the foundation.

The basement tends to be super warm during winter, we spend a lot of time at the basement because of this.



Originally posted by reijo
PWF (Preserved Wood Foundations - the darker green lumber not simply stained) have been around for a while and have to be designed/stamped by an engineer. Before engineering school I worked on some (carpentry). They are in the Alberta Building Code and there are CMHC/CSA guidelines for how they are to be built.....e.g. drainage system, size of lumber/plywood to resist soil pressure (better than concrete in this regard incidentally!), treated materials, and the special poly wrap used on the outside to provide a moisture barrier, metal ties anchoring the lumber etc.

The biggest advantages are quick construction (wood framing) and better insulation e.g. wood and insulation vs. concrete ... also thinner/added space inside.

I have noticed those wood basements tend to be warmer.

Design life? 75 years just like a concrete basement.

Done properly (like anything) there is nothing wrong with them.

(yes, have built and designed them)

Cheers,

R

[holden]

Bumping the thread just to see if anybody else had experience with wood foundation. Seems like if done right it should have life expectancy similar to concrete. Some benefits are dryer and warmer basements. Biggest drawback (assuming that there is no structural or drainage problem) would be resale value and most buyers being afraid of it.