Pictured here is the method used when the basement slab extends beyond where mother nature stopped putting soil and rock. In other words, the land is steep, and the basement slab would be "hanging out in mid air" if we didn't put something under the slab; something like a sub-basement. In short, we will build a sub-basement under the "real" basement". These footers will be poured solid with concrete around the 5 strands of ¾ inch rebar. The footers (termed "step-footers") are the same type of footers we use on nearly every home when the lot is anything but perfectly flat.
Our footers are typically twice as NC Building Codes require, BUT, this is one process where we pull out all the stops and make it "more than right." Our footer/concrete/block contractor may hold the record for having been relieved by more general contractors than any other concrete man. Why? The answer is simple- he is extremely particular about:
1. the origin and the manufacturer of the sand and mortar he uses;
2. the steel rebar he puts in your footer;
3. the types of and manufacturer of the blocks he will lay;
4. his adherence to engineering specs;
5. his ongoing positive relationship with the county building department; and, finally,
6. the final product that will bear his.
After 3 years of working together, you will not find any other masons on our site other than Geoff Grubb, along with his sons Mike, Josh, and Jacob. The Grubb crew, too, originates from the East Coast of Florida.
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