If you’re planning on building a new home, your construction team might consider using the existing foundational structure on the lot, if one is present. Any professional contractor with a good level of experience and skill should be able to figure out how to reuse an existing foundation that is already in place on a lot.
There are a variety of reasons to reuse a home foundation in Layton, UT. Here are just a few examples:
- Availability of blank lots: Instead of starting from scratch on an empty lot, many new home buyers are starting to purchase properties based on location, even if there’s already an existing home there. They may find it preferable to tear down the home and start from scratch on an attractive lot. In such a case, the ability to reuse an existing home foundation could be quite beneficial.
- Cost effective: You can cut out a lot of expenses by keeping the existing foundation in place. Not only will this spare you the costs of the concrete, but it will eliminate a lot of the land preparation, soil exporting and demolition costs. Building a foundation is one of the more expensive parts of any home construction job.
- Better for the environment: You can significantly lower the carbon footprint of your construction project by reusing an existing home foundation rather than tearing it up and moving around all that earth and concrete. The amount of fuel and energy consumed during such a project, not to mention the waste of perfectly good building materials, could be substantial.
- Faster permitting: Keeping an existing foundation for a new structure can expedite the permitting process. In fact, in some locations, the building code might even allow the project to consider your project a remodel rather than a new construction if it keeps an existing foundation, which would cut some hurdles out of the entire process.
- Faster overall time: The overall project will go more quickly if you’re able to reuse the existing foundation. You’ll likely have to perform some modifications to the foundation and topography surrounding it, but this will cut out some of the most complicated phases of any residential construction project and allow you to get through the entire thing faster. It could save you weeks to months on your overall timeline.
- Encourage smarter design: By keeping the existing foundation in place, it forces you to work within certain design constraints. This can actually be beneficial—you’ll incorporate smarter designs rather than create a sprawling floor plan that may or may not be in your best interest.
- Better for the land: Significantly cutting down on your foundational work will also be much easier on the land—you won’t have to worry about as much digging and trenching, and there won’t be as many tire tracks coming up and down your yard. Your neighbors will thank you for this as well!
For more information about why to reuse a home foundation in Layton, UT, we encourage you to contact the custom home builders at UpDwell Homes LLC today.