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Cheltenham Client Saves over £5000 using our eco-foundation raft design

01/03/2011

A Cheltenham client has saved over £5,000 on their two storey side extension by using our eco-foundation raft instead of the traditional trench foundation as quoted by their builder. Raft or slab foundations as the term alludes too, is a concrete slab with reinforced steelwork covering the footprint of the proposed build area. The ground area is excavated to usually between 200-250mm, steel meshing is then placed throughout and concrete then poured to create the raft or slab onto which you can build.

Slab or raft foundations have been used extensively for a number of years in the commercial build sector, and is now finding its way into the domestic market as margins are squeezed whilst material costs continue to rise. As as been demonstrated here the savings can be substantial.

It gets better, as the eco-foundation raft reduces the environmental impact - see Green Foundations, and reduces the time your builder is in the ground. In this case the raft foundation was complete after day 2. The job would have taken typically over a week as in this case the trench foundation would have had to have been dug to two meters.

The design of the raft is bespoke to each job, and the soil composition needs to be checked and all structural and load bearing elements computed to ensure that the build is safe and meets with building control approval.

Please read the Case Study to see how we saved the client £5,000 and reduced the build time by nearly a week.

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