Foundation

Designs

Most folks believe that foundations are only designed to carry the building or the occupants that use them. In reality, foundations are the medium between the soils and the building. They serve a dual role: 1) support the building and the occupants, 2) react to the forces that the soils puts on the foundation. This interaction between building loads and soils loads makes foundations special. They are the most controversial structural element on the building. A-1 Engineering, LLC believes that foundations are a reflection of the owners tolerance for movement. We are confident that any structural engineer can design a suitable foundation for the building. Some engineers design foundations heavy for less movement, some design them lighter to just meet the code requirement with accepting more movement. Our staff of engineers have designed foundations for large commercial complexes to small tool sheds. This vast expansion of experience benefits our clients to explore foundation options and construction that is tolerable for the owner, within budget, meets code requirements and is feasible to construct. We understand that you have choices for choosing your structural engineer, but you also have a choice to better understand the foundation you are constructing or just accept what is provided. 

Our scope of services includes:

  1. Foundation designs for residential buildings
  2. Foundation designs for commercial buildings
  3. Foundation designs for carports, patios, decks, fence walls, sign and towers
  4. Capacity analysis of existing foundations

Foundation

Assessments

You may think that you need foundation repair or you maybe considering to purchase a home with suspected foundation problems. With our design experience in foundation designs, we have the experience and expertise to assess foundations of all types and construction. Historically, we have assessed foundations for:

  1. Warranty Companies for warranty claims
  2. Home owners appealing warranty company decisions
  3. Insurance claims for water damage to foundations
  4. Litigation cases for defective foundation designs
  5. Investigations for condition and capacity of existing foundations to support new loads or story additions
  6. Real estate transactions for buyers and sellers
  7. FHA assessments for modular homes
  8. Foundation assessments for permit requirements
  9. Foundation assessments for foundation repair

We do not assess foundationd blindly. With the use of ground penetrating radar and 3D laser scanners, we can see through concrete and measure differences in elevation to 1mm in accuracy. Technology has provided us with cutting edge equipment and software to explore foundations beyond the convetional methods still used today.