Basements lie underneath your home, so you want to be sure as hell that when you lay construct your basement foundation, it’s as strong as it can be. Water leaks and moisture are one of the main concerns when digging and building a basement. Unless you want your basement to look like an aquarium at one point or another, then you have to be 100% sure that your basement foundation is built to the highest standards and the correct drainage is installed.

In this post, we’ll talk about the importance of strong basement foundations, the aspects of a basement retrofit and who to call if you want the best basement foundation for your home.

Importance of building a strong basement foundation

Basements are vulnerable to accumulating moisture. They’re underground with little air ventilation which can lead to the growth of mildew and mould if water is allowed in so dealing with external drainage and landscaping is critical. When a basement foundation is strong, it decreases the odds of allowing moisture into your home.

The first step is to get a soil report done, to ensure you do not have a water table or shallow moisture levels in the soil. If the water table or moisture levels are close to the surface, then this will be a problem and water egress will be unavoidable, which isn’t ideal for any habitable rooms.

Aspects of basement foundation

There are a few different aspects of basement foundations that you may already be familiar with:

• Concrete
  As one of the strongest options for building a basement foundation, it’s no wonder why concrete is such a common choice for basements. It’s simple, reliable and sturdy. Concrete creates a strong basement foundation which rarely causes any problems. Water leaks can still occur in concrete retention systems, the key is to assess the moisture levels in the soil prior to any design being settled on. It’s prudent to involve Techniblock in your design phase in conjunction with your builder, to ensure all aspects of your basement retrofit are considered.

• Underpinning
  Underpinning is a the most common method used to extend the existing foundations deeper, so as to create a retention system so as to enable excavation to take place for your proposed new basement without compromising the integrity of you exiting building. so that it can support additional loads. Underpinning also helps correct settlement issues if they are present. Underpinning is an essential part of a basement retrofit, and because there are different methods – each with their own advantages -you need someone with years of underpinning experience. At Techniblock in conjunction with qualified Engineers, we have been specialising in foundation construction and rectification for more than 30 years and can be trusted to always choose the best approach.

• Excavation
  Possibly the most obvious aspect of building a strong basement foundation is the excavation. You can’t create a strong basement without a nice, big hole first! Unfortunately, you can’t just grab a shovel and set to work on your block of land. Following the new retention system being installed, you need a team of excavation specialists who have all the right gear for bulk excavation in tight access situations such as retro fit basements. To put it lightly, Techniblock know their way around excavators and can dig any hole for domestic and commercial basements.

A building is only as strong as its foundation. Which is why if you’re planning on laying a basement foundation, you talk to the pros at Techniblock. Techniblock are Melbourne’s expert foundation construction company, putting their years of experience in foundation construction and repair into building basements under pre-existing homes. With the right work ethic, equipment and expertise, Techniblock in conjunction with a structural engineer, and your appointed builder, will get your basement project underway on time and to budget.