What is the purpose of a foundation? What does it do for you? Why do you need it? Is it really all that important? Have you ever thought much about why you should be grateful for your foundation?
It’s okay, no one has asked these *foundational* foundation questions before . . . until now . . . as we struggle to find a topic to write about the day before Thanksgiving break . . .
At Anchor Foundation Repair, we have been inspecting and repairing Brazos Valley foundations for 35+ years and can totally tell you about their purpose, and it’s not just to give us something to fix.
This article will clearly define the key purposes of home foundations and highlight the benefits to homeowners. We will also provide you with a template apology that you can read aloud to your dear foundation for not showing more gratitude for this important home part throughout your life.
What Is a Foundation’s Purpose?
What role does a foundation play in your home? If this were a movie, your foundation would be like the paper the script was written on, oh wait that’s probably the blueprints. Hold on, I need a new analogy . . .
What role does a foundation play in your home? If this were a novel, your foundation would be like the dictionary. The words are the elements that your novel (i.e. home) is built upon . . . is that too cryptic?
What role does a foundation play in your home? Alright, let’s just go to the actual dictionary and look up the word foundation, shall we? (p.s. I am only listing the definitions that made sense for a home and not all the other definitions)
foundation noun
: an underlying base or support
: a body or ground upon which something is built up or overlaid
I take these definitions to mean that your home *needs* a foundation as an underlying base in order to be built. So, you have to have one to put the rest of your home on (seems kind of important). But wait . . . there’s more . . .
All foundations have a few basic purposes for you. The first is to support the structure of your home. Foundations provide a way to keep groundwater away from you and the rest of your stuff. They also serve as a vapor barrier to both the water and soil under your home. These are all good things that keep your home solid, stable, and dry.
One could argue (and you can bet that’s what I’m about to do) that there’s even more to the purpose of a foundation than those basic definitions and explanations.
Top 7 Things To Be Grateful For In Your Foundation
To be thorough, I’m going to list out all the reasons that we should be grateful for our foundations, even if a few of them got vaguely mentioned in the section above. Foundations do these important things for you:
- Provide a *Foundation* for Your Home
- Keep You Safe
- Keep You Dry
- Keep You Clean
- Keep Pests Away
- Keep You In One Place
- Make Your House a Home
Now we can elaborate on these a little to increase my word count . . . er I mean, to explain why you should be grateful for these important foundation offerings.
1. Foundations Provide a *Foundation* for the Rest of Your Home
You’ve got to build the rest of the weight of your home on something strong and stable. Thanks, foundation, for being so solid. You’re a real stand-up guy! (or gal if your foundation seems more girly).
2. Foundations Keep You Safe
Your foundation keeps you secure in many ways. It keeps the rest of your house from falling over because you’ve got something good to start from. It keeps you warm and off the cold ground so you won’t freeze to death. There’s probably more but this is good enough for a paragraph.
P.S. Even if you have foundation problems, your home is still safe to live in.
3. Foundations Keep You Dry
Foundations keep you away from moisture. Like the actual wet moisture from rain, but also keeps ground vapor away too. You know how the ground gets wet with dew at night or your tent gets all damp from being on the ground? There’s groundwater as well as the dampness that comes from the soil and your foundation protects you from all that bad H2O.
4. Foundations Keep You Clean
You know, people used to live in cabins with dirt floors. Aren’t you glad someone invented foundations to keep you from living in the actual dirt? Pioneers were cool and whatnot but I am glad that we have moved beyond that soil-centric lifestyle . . .
5. Foundations Keep Pests Away
Bugs, rodents, snakes, and even larger animals live in and on the dirt outside. Your foundation helps to create an “inside” for you to live in. That foundation keeps all those small pests and *animal unpleasantries* from invading your home by elevating you away from them and creating a solid barrier to keep them out. Gee, foundation, you’re swell!
6. Foundations Keep You In One Place
This is a two-fold foundation benefit. First, foundations make us more permanent than the nomad. We’ve got a permanent home to stay in and don’t need to move around to where there’s warmer weather or more food. We can stay where we are and that’s super.
Second, high winds can sometimes blow things around if they are not tied down. Your foundation establishes that heavy, un-moving surface to keep you from flying away in a tornado and landing in Munchkinland. Sure, Dorothy had a foundation but we’ve improved things since then, especially with the development of slab-on-grade foundations.
7. Foundations Make Your House a Home
This is the warm and fuzzy contribution from my boss, Craig Tripp (he’s all sappy like that these days). Foundations are the real-world start of something intangible – a home. It’s that cozy, warm, safe, secure place that means you’re where you belong . . . wrapped in love and comfort. Now, isn’t that special?
Apologize To Your Foundation Now
I bet you didn’t think I could come up with 7 legit reasons to be grateful for your foundation, did you? Well, I did it and instead of apologizing to me for this gross underestimation, apologize to your foundation instead for your underappreciation.
Recite the following statement loudly, standing outside of your home, preferably when there are others around to witness your heartfelt declarations:
“Oh great and solid foundation, I’m so sorry. I really take you for granted every single day and regularly fail to see the shining beauty in your (choose 1):
a.) dull concrete surface (for slab homes) or,
b.) complex layers of wood and stone (for crawl space homes).
Furthermore, I ask your forgiveness for this constant neglect and failure to appreciate your many gifts. From this Thanksgiving forth, I shall hold your unfailing dedication to the residents of our residence in the highest regard. I shall nurture you and keep you healthy with tender and careful care as a symbol of my highest esteem and your importance in our lives.
With much respect,”
[insert your name here]
Appreciate and Care For Your Foundation In the Future
I’m not sure if anyone will use my Template for Foundation Appreciation *trademark pending*. But alas, there’s one other thing you can do besides a public apology to your foundation and that’s to take care of it.
At Anchor Foundation Repair, we do more for the Brazos Valley than repairing foundations and offering witty and insightful articles, we provide 100% honest and transparent information on foundation problems and foundation repair solutions to empower you with knowledge.
For our top suggestions on foundation maintenance and problem prevention, check this out: Can I Prevent Foundation Problems In My Home? 3 Ways to Try. Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving, y’all!