Raft vs Waffle Slabs
Everything you Need to Know to Choose the Right Foundation for your Custom Home Build.
Without a doubt, the most crucial element of a home is a solid foundation. When it comes to choosing the right foundation for your home, you may be weighing the pros and cons of raft versus waffle slabs.
Both offer advantages and disadvantages regarding cost, structural integrity and construction time. Ultimately, the decision of raft versus waffle slab will depend on your soil type, building design requirements and potentially the budget.
Raft Slabs for Custom Homes
Designed to spread the load of a home over a more significant area, raft slabs are ideal for constructing custom homes across Geelong, the Surf Coast and the Bellarine. Suitable for most soil types and less susceptible to moisture damage, a raft foundation is a thick steel-reinforced concrete slab with steel-reinforced beams. Designed to comply with Australian standard AS2870, the beams are dug into the ground for added strength and stability.
Advantages of Raft Slabs
There are many advantages to building a custom home on a raft slab, including the following:
It allows moisture through without warping.
It is less prone to cracks or damage.
It is suitable for sloping lots and high-wind areas.
It is more tolerant of poor ground conditions.
At Live Green Homes, we use raft slabs over waffle slabs to create stronger, more durable foundations for our custom homes.
Raft Slabs versus Waffle Slabs
A waffle slab foundation is a reinforced concrete footing and slab system constructed on top of the ground. A waffle slab usually consists of a perimeter footing (otherwise called an edge beam) and a series of narrow internal beams or strip footings running each way throughout the slab. When viewed from underneath, the whole structure looks like a waffle - hence the name.
Waffle slabs have their place in the construction industry; however, in some circumstances, they do not work well:
Soft ground conditions
Sloping sites
High wind areas
No matter what you choose, raft or waffle slab - you should ensure the slab foundation is designed by a qualified professional and comply with Australian standards.
Custom Home Builder who Uses Raft Slabs
At Live Green Homes, we strive to build beautiful, energy-efficient homes built on durable, stable foundations. For more information about our raft slab foundations for your custom home, call us at (03) 5255 3556. Visit our showroom in Leopold to see what it means to build with Live Green Homes or read our testimonials from satisfied customers.