Pros and Cons of a Wood Foundation

Having a wood foundation in your home can save you on building material costs for your home. This is certainly important when considering building a house with a wood foundation. Saving on construction costs is a huge consideration when deciding to use wood instead of concrete for the creation of your foundation.

Pros of Using Wood in Foundation

The pros for using wood in your foundation is that the material is sustainable and can be reused in other homes when you decide to tear the home down and build another. This will help reduce the manufacturing and production that is involved with making concrete and using it to build your home’s foundation.

Cost of Wood Versus Concrete

Another pro in using wood for building a home’s foundation is that the cost of wood can be less than the cost for using concrete. You can realize savings of up to several dollars a square foot of foundation laid. For a house that requires a foundation of 2 to 3,000 square feet, this can be a savings of $5,000 to $15,000. This amount of savings can be significant when considering the overall cost of the build.

Cons of Using Wood in Foundation

Using wood for your home’s foundation can provide you with cost savings over the use of wood in many cases. The cons of using wood includes the possibility that over time the wood will deteriorate or rot, causing the foundation to fail. This failure will result in having to spend tens of thousands of dollars in repair costs to fix or replace the wood foundation with another wood foundation or have poured concrete.

If you are in an area of the country that is subject to insect infestation such as termites or other insects that eat wood, you will find that using wood may not be a smart choice. Unless the wood is expertly treated to prevent infestation you will find using wood an inviting buffet to all of the various insect types that will result in expensive repair or replacement.

Water Damage to Wood Foundations

Wood foundations are more susceptible to water damage over time than concrete foundations. Water can get into the wood easier than it can concrete and over time this will cause the wood to become water logged and splinter. As the wood weakens, planks will need to be replaced to prevent the entire foundation from failing. Water damage is a great consideration when the home is located in a FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) recognized flood zone that is subject to constant flooding problems.

Whether you choose to use wood or concrete in your home’s foundation is your personal preference. Do not let cost alone determine the advisability of one building material over the other. You need to also consider the affects of environment and other conditions over time on the foundation and how these conditions will affect the ability of your foundation to stay intact and work as designed.