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Sketch of wood foundation components (C) Carson Dunlop AssociatesWood Building Foundations: Inspection, Diagnosis, Repair

How to inspect a wood foundation:

Preserved wood building foundations: this article explains wood building foundations, their inspection, installation, diagnosis, repair, and durability. Page top sketch of a basic wood foundation design is provided courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, a Toronto home inspection, education & report writing tool company [ carsondunlop.com ].

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How to Identify, Diagnose, & Evaluate Wood Foundation Defects

Sketch of wood foundation components (C) Carson Dunlop Associates

Some building jurisdictions permit the use of preserved or "treated" wood products for below-grade building foundations. These materials offer advantages of construction speed and low cost. As in the installation of Concrete Pre-cast Foundation walls, treated wood foundations may be installed on a gravel pad rather than requiring a solid masonry footing.

Suggestions for Inspecting a preserved wood foundation

Our opinion is that "30-year guaranteed treated wood foundation products" used below grade mean that no permanent building foundation has been provided. This sketch of the components of a preserved wood foundation is courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, a Toronto home inspection, education & report writing tool company [ carsondunlop.com ].

Buildings using a wood foundation are in our OPINION a temporary structure. In areas of wet soils and insect damage risk damage may occur sooner than the warranty period.

CONTACT us by email to suggest photos or content regarding wood building foundations.

Note: use of plumb lines, levels, laser levels, & simple measurements of amount by which a wall is out of level or plumb, or of crack widths and patterns are beyond ASHI or other home inspection standards scope but are common simple tools and procedures used by masons, carpenters, builders, as well as foundation experts and engineers.

Below are some articles that offer additional foundation damage analysis methods that pertain to wood foundations as well as other foundation types:

Pre-cast concrete foundation may be mistaken for wood when viewed from inside (C) Daniel Friedman & Carson Dunlop Associates Toronto

Watch out: a novice inspector may have trouble distinguishing between a completely-wood foundation and a pre-cast concrete foundation wall such as the structure shown above. If the sills and studs in this wall are concrete then it's almost certainly a pre-cast concrete foundation even though you may see plywood or OSB on the inside surface of the foundation cavity wall.

Sources Of & Research On Pre-Fab Wood Foundations & Prefab Construction


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WOOD FOUNDATION DEFECTS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.


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