The Foolish Man Built His House Upon The Sand: Why This Song Is No Longer True

Industrial & Manufacturing Blog

There is an old religious children's song that talks about how a wise man built his house on a rock, and the foolish man built his house upon the sand. When the rains came, so the song goes, the house on the rock stands, but the house on the sand went splat. While this song displays some truths about building a house on hard surfaces versus soft and unstable ground, those truths are no longer a problem for any "foolish man who builds his house upon the sand." Here is why.

New Engineering Techniques

Given that the world's population has now climbed to seven billion people and counting, people need to find more spaces to live. This includes engineering new techniques for living in places that would not otherwise be wise or safe to live. Some of those techniques include soil stabilization, elevated homes, and foundation reinforcements.

Soil Stabilization

There are three ways to stabilize soil. First, you can inject the soil with grouting material to make the soil very compact and quite hard. No amount of erosion can occur because the soil is not entirely soil anymore. Additionally, if you want to live on a beach, the same process can be applied to the sand under your home.

Secondly, you can hire a contractor to import harder dirt and clays from other parts of the country. Prior to building your home, the contractor grinds these tougher soils and clays into the softer soils on your property. Thoroughly churning harder soil materials into softer ones builds up the density of the soil.

Thirdly, you can also plant a lot of trees that have deep roots. You do have to be careful with this option, as you do not want tree roots tapping your plumbing twenty years from now. Also, it helps to keep the soil well-drained. When you combine well-drained soil with trees, you get a hardier variety of soil.

Elevated Homes

Elevated homes are homes built on very strong stilted platforms, or on very high waterproof platforms. This is a recommended technique for homes that are close to water. It is also a good idea for homes built on flood plains or in swamp areas.

Reinforced Foundations

Reinforced foundations include excavating around a current foundation and bracing it with steel braces. This is often done in areas where the soil is exceedingly soft, and/or earthquakes are common. If you want to reinforce your foundation, talk to a foundation contractor.

For more information, contact a company like T. Luckey Sons, Inc.

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25 March 2018

Your Guide To Industrial and Manufacturing Operations

Hi, my name is David Dotson and the purpose of this blog is to educate others about the manufacturing process. For as long as I can remember, I've always been amazed by how different things are made. It fascinates me to think about the process of taking raw materials and turning them into something useful during fabrication. When I have spare time, I can be found reading about various types of manufacturing and industrial plants to learn how they operate. I wanted to write a blog about my findings so that others could also learn how raw goods are transformed every day into useable products.