House Foundation for a new build

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › House Foundation for a new build

t0ny

414 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 84

Lifetime subscriber

#273013 30-Jul-2020 17:52

Iam looking at a section to build upon and its back is facing a busy street. My brother in laws house is along the same street and I have noticed that when heavy vehicles go past, his house appears to shake. Is there different types of foundations that counter that type of behavior or should I just look else where for a section away from the road? My brother in laws house just had the foundation where they put the styrofoam blocks

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10018

#2532247 31-Jul-2020 16:43

Look for a section away from the road. I presume the foundation built on polystyrene blocks is a "rib raft" - maybe you could reduce vibration by excavating and compacting fill before putting down a foundation, a geotechnical engineer might be able to give advice, but I doubt it's going to work. My guess is that even if it's possible it might be expensive - then if there's heavy traffic there's the noise to consider.

wellygary

8810 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5287

#2532251 31-Jul-2020 16:49

"Regular" piles and a wooden floor would probably offer better "shake" performance,

But given everyone uses concrete slabs these days I guess they are cheaper to lay and met insulation requirements with

It will also likely raise the house height which may impact the recession planes...

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10018

#2532281 31-Jul-2020 17:39

wellygary:

"Regular" piles and a wooden floor would probably offer better "shake" performance,

I doubt it.

1eStar

1604 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 375

#2532301 31-Jul-2020 18:21

There's probably a bump in the roadway outside your brothers place.

bfginger

1330 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 191

#2535508 5-Aug-2020 23:53

Putting laminate in your double glazing will make things quieter. Thermal break joinery should help too. There are soundstop plasterboard products with higher mass you can place on the road facing walls to reduce sound transmission. The type of cladding has an influence to.

MikeAqua

8024 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3818

#2535548 6-Aug-2020 08:28

I suspect the shaking when trucks going past is due to the soil conditions, more than anything else. Anything loose in the house that rattles/bangs/vibrates will accentuate the shaking.

Mike

Geekzone

Want to support Geekzone and browse the site without the ads? Subscribe to Geekzone now (monthly, annual and lifetime options).

Bung

6733 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2926

Subscriber

#2535564 6-Aug-2020 09:19

t0ny:
Iam looking at a section to build upon and its back is facing a busy street. My brother in laws house is along the same street and I have noticed that when heavy vehicles go past, his house appears to shake. Is there different types of foundations that counter that type of behavior or should I just look else where for a section away from the road? My brother in laws house just had the foundation where they put the styrofoam blocks

Are there enough heavy vehicles for you to quickly compare standing on the footpath near your brother's house and near your proposed section? Years ago my parents house was on a street that used to have trams. The tracks were laid in concrete but outside the neighbour's there used to be a drain for the tracks that was filled and sealed over. When buses hit this "soft" spot the thud was felt in surrounding houses rather than heard. Further away it wasn't noticed. Eventually all the concrete was ripped up and the problem went away.

t0ny

414 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 84

Lifetime subscriber

#2535597 6-Aug-2020 09:56

I had a site visit with my architect yesterday and his suggestion was that its a hard problem to solve as there are many factors (soil type, road issues etc). His suggestion was that you will not be able to completely eliminate the issue unless you spend lots of $$ which is not a viable option. I will ask my brother in law to report the issue to road transport or council and see if they can do any investigation as I heard other neighbours in his street complaining about the issue as well