The making of a high performance green home on a budget - Foundation

Once all site conditions were considered, it was time to ’scalp’ the lot.
Scalping is the act of removing the organic matter (grass in this case) and
debris from the earth’s surface. This is done to ensure a good solid base
for construction. Organic’s will decompose and compromise the foundation if
not removed. The scalping are piled neatly on the lot and covered to prevent
erosion and speed the decomposition process. Rather than hauling them
offsite, they will be reused on site later in the process.

Clean fill was brought in to the appropriate grade. The footers were poured
using a high fly-ash content concrete. Fly-ash is an industrial waste
product. Using it in concrete is a great use for an otherwise useless waste
component. Using fly-ash also reduces the amount of mined aggregate
necessary for the mix. Fly-ash is sourced locally as are the other
aggregates in our concrete. All of our re-bar contains a high recycled
materials content as well.

Once the foundation walls were in and backfilled, it was time to install the
rough plumbing. The wastes are all PVC and the water lines CPVC. The making
of PVC is not an environmentally friendly process. However, the durability
of PVC over other available plumbing materials makes it the best option
available today. The plumbing layout was designed in a loop. This allows for
the use of a re-circulating pump. This will save water that is normally
wasted while waiting for hot water at the point of use. All hot water lines
were wrapped in Armor-Flex. It is in an insulator that protects the pipes
form the naturally cool earth. This will reduce hot water use and save
power.

No soil poison is used on my projects. These poisons are toxic to most
living things and are unnecessary for controlling sub-terranean termites.
Instead, I use a series of pest control measures that work independent of
one another. Below the slab, perforated tubes are installed and a fitting is
attached outside the home. If it any time termites are discovered below the
home, a single specific treatment may be applied without any damage to the
home or environment. Generally, sub-terranean termites are exterminated by
drilling holes throughout the home’s slab, and poison is injected. The
home’s floors are ruined.

Once the slab is prepped it is time to pour concrete. High fly-ash concrete
is used in conjunction with fiber-mesh. Fiber-mesh creates a stronger slab
and is used in place of wire mesh. Steel is a finite substance so we try to
minimize its use in areas with equally strong alternatives. Fly-ash slows
the curing process. Fast curing is the cause of most slab cracks in Florida.
Our slabs are stronger, and crack much less than equivalent slabs containing
no fly-ash.