Traditional Slab Design

FOR YEARS, RESIDENTIAL AND LIGHTWEIGHTCOMMERCIAL STRUCTURES HAVE UTILIZED THREE BASIC FOUNDATION DESIGN SYSTEMS:

Slab-on-Grade Foundations - are typically the most cost effective but are very susceptible to foundation movement since they depend on the soils near the surface of the ground for support.

Pier and Beam Foundations- do a better job of minimizing the effects of soil movement but are more expensive to build and require a significantly longer construction time.

Structurally Suspended Slabs- have always been the "Cadillac" of residential foundation design, because they are "suspended" above the ground and thus isolate the slab from troublesome soil movement. However, in the past, their design and construction has been problematic. They often require over-excavating the site, they are very labor intensive, quality control is difficult to maintain and most importantly, they are very expensive to build.

Of course, none of these systems has any provision for future

adjustment of the foundation.

and now.... SlabTek