From industrial warehouses to 20-story offices, every building must be constructed upon a strong foundation in order to provide it with the best start. After all, a foundation is the bread and butter of a structure and its function is to ensure that a completed building will stand for many years without falling victim to soil movement or moisture changes. Millgrove Construction are trained professionals that abide by every regulation of the construction industry, and we take foundations incredibly seriously. Read on as we analyse why a foundation is a crucial step that should never be overlooked…
Longevity
A foundation has the power to decide the lifespan of a property, particularly when it comes to residential and industrial builds. This means that a complete lack of foundation or a poorly installed approach can leave a building vulnerable to subsidence because its load will not be supported adequately. Subsidence is defined as ‘the gradual sinking of an area of land’ and often occurs due to the movement or shrinking of surface soil. When a foundation is does not provide enough support, longevity can be compromised as severe subsidence often leaves homes inhabitable and properties derelict.
Stability
It is no secret that a fully-constructed building is incredibly heavy and as such, stability is crucial in construction because it ensures that a structure has been crafted in accordance with health and safety guidelines. Since a building cannot be signed off if one area is forced to support more weight than it can handle, these guidelines are of the upmost importance. In fact, a foundation is integral to stability because it ensures that the weight of a building is spread equally across all of the pressure points.
Quality
In construction, quality can be determined by many different criteria such as planning, aesthetics and the actual building process itself. With this said, a foundation could have a negative impact on all of the above if it is not implemented by a trained and experienced company who specialise in industrial foundational approaches like piling. After all, a poor-quality or incorrectly installed foundation can be just detrimental in construction as a complete lack of foundation.
The ground is constantly changing below our feet which means that a low-quality or non-existent foundation can shave decades off the lifespan of a building. Foundational approaches like piling, mini-piling, underpinning and groundworks reinforce the weight of a building to the stronger, more robust soil located deep within the earth so that the softer soil at the surface can be manipulated by moisture changes without affecting the stability of a structure. To find out more information about the importance of foundations in the construction industry, get in contact with the best commercial building contractor around and speak to a member of the Millgrove Construction team today!
