Eroding Dirt Foundation of Concrete Slab

Posted by Jack King on June 7, 2008, 11:01 pm

We had a slab built a few years ago and the builders simply built-up the
earth to support a even slab, there are no concrete foundations...only
dirt. The dirt is now eroding from around the perimeter of the slab
leaving its corners hanging in the air. Anything I can do to repair
this? Advice is greatly appreciated.

Jack.

Posted by Steve on June 8, 2008, 12:44 am

> We had a slab built a few years ago and the builders simply built-up
> the earth to support a even slab, there are no concrete
> foundations...only dirt. The dirt is now eroding from around the
> perimeter of the slab leaving its corners hanging in the air.
> Anything I can do to repair this? Advice is greatly appreciated.

I'd talk to an engineer before doing anything. You might need to just
replace the dirt, and you might need to do something drastic.

Speculation: Replace the dirt, then build a retaining system with concrete
block.

Get thee to a foundation contractor.
--
Steve B.
New Life Home Improvement

Posted by Firemedic on November 19, 2008, 11:19 am

Firemedic had written this in response to
http://www.thestuccocompany.com/construction/Re-Eroding-Dirt-Foundation-of-Concrete-Slab-14378-.htm
:
I have a 3' x 6' aggregate slab that holds 2 - 3-ton HVAC units. With our
Southern soil, the clay-dirt has settled and/ or eroded underneath the pad
over time (10+ years).
Will placing supports of treated lumber (railroad ties, etc.) or steel
with concrete support be sufficient or would you suggest excavating around
the pad, building a block footer wall and then filling the void with
concrete?
Additionally, the pad does not currently show any signs of stress (cracks,
fractures, etc.) and no signs of tilting or potential collapse.

Thank you.

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Posted by PeterD on November 19, 2008, 1:13 pm

On 19 Nov 2008 16:19:44 GMT, brian.moat_at_comcast_dot_net@foo.com
(Firemedic) wrote:

>I have a 3' x 6' aggregate slab that holds 2 - 3-ton HVAC units. With our
>Southern soil, the clay-dirt has settled and/ or eroded underneath the pad
>over time (10+ years).
>Will placing supports of treated lumber (railroad ties, etc.) or steel
>with concrete support be sufficient or would you suggest excavating around
>the pad, building a block footer wall and then filling the void with
>concrete?
>Additionally, the pad does not currently show any signs of stress (cracks,
>fractures, etc.) and no signs of tilting or potential collapse.
>Thank you.

(Stucko company spam removed)

You may want to post some images of what the slab looks like, because
I can't quite see how you are getting your erosion. Is it on a slope?
If so then a retainer (personally I'd go for cement/block over wood)
would make sense.

Posted by on November 19, 2008, 6:40 pm

Where are you located? The freeze/defrost cycle might be a cause of the
errosion.

Hul

> Firemedic had written this in response to
>

http://www.thestuccocompany.com/construction/Re-Eroding-Dirt-Foundation-of-Concrete-Slab-14378-.htm

> :
> I have a 3' x 6' aggregate slab that holds 2 - 3-ton HVAC units. With our
> Southern soil, the clay-dirt has settled and/ or eroded underneath the pad
> over time (10+ years).
> Will placing supports of treated lumber (railroad ties, etc.) or steel
> with concrete support be sufficient or would you suggest excavating around
> the pad, building a block footer wall and then filling the void with
> concrete?
> Additionally, the pad does not currently show any signs of stress (cracks,
> fractures, etc.) and no signs of tilting or potential collapse.

> Thank you.

> ##-----------------------------------------------##
> Delivered via http://www.thestuccocompany.com/
> Building Construction and Maintenance Forum
> Web and RSS access to your favorite newsgroup -
> alt.building.construction - 14843 messages and counting!
> ##-----------------------------------------------##

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