# Wood foundation house



## d00little (Jul 2, 2017)

Anybody have experience with houses built with a preserved wood foundation (not a new build, circa 80's/90's)? I know the preference would be concrete, but it seems if done right, it should have the same life expectancy. There will be a hit in resale value, but I'm thinking it should be offset by the discount when purchasing.

FYI. The location of the home is in Calgary which is a dry climate.


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## tygrus (Mar 13, 2012)

Good god, no. 

Thing isnt probably up to code either.


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## d00little (Jul 2, 2017)

tygrus said:


> Good god, no.
> 
> Thing isnt probably up to code either.


It is late 80's build. It does have Engineer stampings from time of construction. If I were to follow through, it would have to pass a structural engineer's inspection in addition to a regular home inspector.

Most people's first reaction is similar to yours, which is why the house is likely to sell below market value.


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## like_to_retire (Oct 9, 2016)

d00little said:


> Most people's first reaction is similar to yours, which is why the house is likely to sell below market value.


I don't see a lot of upside. Just about everyone's reaction would be to run away, so if you ever wanted to sell, your market would be small, and the few that would be interested would want a deal.

You may get it for a good price, but you'd always be wondering if your foundation is rotting away beneath you.

It just seems, and always has seemed like a really bad idea.

Best look for a house with a concrete foundation.

ltr


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## tygrus (Mar 13, 2012)

Get a inspection, see if they condemn it, lowball the owner and put an infill up in its place.


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

A lot of BS here...all wood foundations require engineered drawings and inspection during construction. Today the foundations are installed slightly different but the wolumized wood is the same rated for direct burial and warranted for 50 years...expected life will be in excess of 100 years. No house inspector is capable of inspecting a pwf foundation ....an engineer will do it for a couple 100.

Most concrete foundations are poured with a 60-40 slump and no inspection/testing...check out shrinkage cracks/leaks in most residential foundations.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

tygrus said:


> Get a inspection, see if they condemn it, lowball the owner and put an infill up in its place.


Yup........I know a guy who had a wood foundation under a mobile home and it was condemned because of wood rot.


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

I'm pretty sure if the wood rotted he was a moron that didn't use wolmanized products...important decisions like buying a house should involve facts not "I know a guy" anecdotes.


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## Mechanic (Oct 29, 2013)

Concrete foundations have issues too in Alberta. I have had both in the past. The wood one was fine (engineer approved, circa 1990)


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## nobleea (Oct 11, 2013)

I didn't know they did wood basements that late in the game. Calgary is pretty dry, but they do get some nice heavy rainfall storms (both liquid and snow).
If it passes a formal inspection I don't see an issue with it. I'd want a discount of at least 50K over a comparable concrete basement house. This would be the cost to lift the house and redo the foundation in concrete.


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## d00little (Jul 2, 2017)

nobleea said:


> I didn't know they did wood basements that late in the game. Calgary is pretty dry, but they do get some nice heavy rainfall storms (both liquid and snow).
> If it passes a formal inspection I don't see an issue with it. I'd want a discount of at least 50K over a comparable concrete basement house. This would be the cost to lift the house and redo the foundation in concrete.


I didn't even think of that as an option (redo the foundation). It's a 2-story 1800 sqft. infill, could it really be done for only $50-60K? Judging by its recent price drop, how long its been on the listed and Calgary's soft market, I think a $50K-75K discount would be likely.


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## awesomeame (Nov 15, 2011)

FWIW, my family years ago bought a vacation property that had an obviously condemned house on it with wood foundation. We burned the house down, but the foundation was solid, and the flames barely touched it. We ended up with a backhoe, bulldozer and dumptruck ripping the foundation out. It was tough/well built. But these days..man that'll hurt you on resale. If you get a deal now, expect the next buyer to want a deal, too! 

Matt


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

I would put wood foundations in the same category as UFFI, asbestos siding, and lead paint.........all perfectly acceptable to inspectors at the time.


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## Marci (Feb 6, 2021)

tygrus said:


> Good god, no.
> 
> Thing isnt probably up to code either.


Perhaps you should know what you are talking about before you start with "Probably". They were built to code, if done properly they have as good or better lifespan than concrete and definitely better than blocks. We had one for many years, only sold because of a job transfer. That basement was nice and warm and absolutely no problems. Had it inspected before putting it on the market and it passed with flying colors. Maybe check things out before you make your comments without any knowledge.


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## Ponderling (Mar 1, 2013)

It is a matter of the right product. I worked as electricians helper building houses on cottage roads in the late 80 working my way though uni in the summers and over school breaks. 

These cottage roads were not rated for ready mix trucks and a few were on islands too.

The general contractor used the right preserved wood rated for direct earth contact. Good exterior weeper sub drains laid in a sock of gravel, and clear stone backfill and then geotextile to keep the topsoil from infiltrating heavily. 

The key with the wood was to shake and and lay on the cut juice every time you had to cut the preserved product. We even would squirt a turkey baster worth of cut preservative on any hole we would drill for wires if it was on an exterior wall stud below grade.

Basement exterior walls were green treated tongue and groove plywood, and was glued and nailed to the stud walls. 

If the details were followed the end result stood up well. It cost more than concrete but these were not cheap vacation homes we were putting up.


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

I recall wood foundations being promoted years ago. It did surprise me, but they were approved and built to building codes. But if in market for a home today, I would avoid. The article below also brings up issues with insurance and mortgages. 



https://forum.nachi.org/t/wood-foundations/13546



When we bought our home, it had a lakeside pumphouse built out of pressure treated lumber and almost totally underground. Much of the wood eventually rotted out. I had it redone in poured concrete.


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

Wood foundations, like roof trusses, require a design by a engineer. Building codes do not address their construction and inspection is required by the engineer, not the building inspector. 

If your pumphouse rotted it wasn't built from wolmanized wood approved for direct contact. There are many different grades, most are for light duty such as fencing (not the posts) and decking, perhaps these materials were used or maybe just lumber painted with copper napthate (pretty common practice 40 years ago.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

Marci said:


> Perhaps you should know what you are talking about before you start with "Probably". They were built to code, if done properly they have as good or better lifespan than concrete and definitely better than blocks. We had one for many years, only sold because of a job transfer. That basement was nice and warm and absolutely no problems. Had it inspected before putting it on the market and it passed with flying colors. Maybe check things out before you make your comments without any knowledge.


Indeed. When I first met my now spouse ~10 years ago, she lived in a mid-80's constructed house in mid-town Calgary that had a wood foundation. I didn't know that until a few years later when I was working on the floor drain and found out it was wood sub-flooring and wood joists with space beneath it to a gravel base. I was rather startled at first, did a lot of research and they were somewhat common in select areas of the prairies. The way they are engineered and then backfilled against the foundation with standard tile drainage is critical to success. Her finished basement was dry and toasty, more so than any concrete basement I have been in.

When it came time to sell, it was not raised as an issue by the realtor, was listed accordingly, and the purchaser's home inspector didn't blink an eye at the presence of a wood foundation. The reaction was more of a wood foundation would be sought after by some, i.e. those in the know. It opened my mind to there being alternatives though yours truly still would find it difficult to buy a property with a wood foundation.


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

Eder said:


> If your pumphouse rotted it wasn't built from wolmanized wood approved for direct contact. There are many different grades, most are for light duty such as fencing (not the posts) and decking, perhaps these materials were used or maybe just lumber painted with copper napthate (pretty common practice 40 years ago.


Actually the pressure treated back then was a lot better than you can get these days at most lumber stores. Because of the toxic nature of the preservatives used (that have now been outlawed), I doubt any pressure treated wood would be any good these days for in-ground use. Or for exposure in basement to inhabitants. Hydro poles likely use a different preservative than is used for PT lumber available in retail stores.

Unlike you, I have no idea about what type of wood was used for my pumphouse


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

I only know what it wasn't built from if that makes sense lol.


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## Mechanic (Oct 29, 2013)

I owned a home in AB with a wood foundation. Beautiful walkout home built into a hill. Built around 1990 and I bought it mid 90's and lived in it till about 2015, so around 20 yrs. Was inspected and fine when I bought it and also when I sold it. Only downside was it scared away a few buyers when time to sell. I would consider another though.


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## londoncalling (Sep 17, 2011)

Like any structure there is nothing to worry about if properly constructed. I have seen bad foundations of all types. I would not be afraid to own a home with a properly built wood foundation. Usually price becomes the deciding factor. right now it would likely be cheaper to to go with concrete. Many people save a bit when buying an existing home because of the the wood foundation. Like Mechanic mentioned above some will avoid this type of home no matter what.


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