Products & Services

Builder/Owner

Owners acting as their own general contractor are considered by Uni-Foundations, Inc. to be the “builder” and will be referred to as such with respect to this document. A builder is responsible for being on the job site to verify plans and conditions when Uni-Foundations, Inc. first arrives to start work. The builder is also liable for any rework or additional expense incurred by Uni-Foundations, Inc. as a result of incorrect plans or instructions.

Permits and Fees

It is the builders’ responsibility to obtain and pay for any and all necessary permits for work to be performed by Uni-Foundations, Inc. A copy of the building permit should be on the job site prior to the start of work.

Estimates

Uni-Foundations, Inc. provides an estimate at no cost to the builder. In order to do this we need a foundation plan and cross sections delivered to our offices. The estimate is not a quote nor is it guaranteed. Please review the estimate carefully as it outlines the scope and details of work to be performed and is illustrative of how we price and bill our work. You will be charged from our price list for only the work performed. The slope of the site, depth of excavation, discovery of rock, poor soil conditions, etc. may affect wall heights or footing thickness and add to the cost of the project.

Measuring

Wall lengths are determined by measuring the corners to the longest dimension each way. Uni-Foundations, Inc. cannot provide wall lengths to fractions of inches. Wall height for billing purposes is determined by the height of the forms set.

Plans

The key to a successful foundation experience is a complete and accurate set of drawings for your project. The builder shall provide drawings of work to be performed, including all necessary dimensions and the size and location all openings, pockets, sleeves, ledges, etc. All changes and field determined items must be noted on the drawing and initialed. Uni-Foundations, Inc. cannot be responsible for errors or omissions on the drawings.

Design

All walls and footings are designed to meet or exceed the latest IRC for one and two family dwelling code for unreinforced concrete foundation walls where unstable soil or ground water conditions do not exist in seismic zones 0, 1 or 2. In some areas building officials may require additional work or materials which exceed the statewide building code. These additional items are not included unless specifically noted on your estimate. It is the builders’ responsibility to determine if additional items are necessary and provide engineered drawings when applicable. The builder should meet with the appropriate building officials to determine the requirements in their locality.

Footings

Our footing crew can form a wide variety of footers. These become the work area for forming the walls. All basements should have footing drains with gravel.

• Concrete mix: 2500 P.S.I.
• Steel: 2 – #4’s
• Size: 6” thick and walls to allow for At least a 4” projection on either side of wall.

Over-sized footing

An additional charge will be added for footings larger than standard size. Poor soil condition, slope, rock, mud or fill dirt may require extra concrete in footings. This will increase the cost of the footing.

Frost Footings

24” deep x 24” wide concrete allowed. Footings are designed according to the builders’ instructions for frost protection after backfill. Uni-Foundations, Inc. cannot be responsible for freezing by lack of backfill.

Wall Finish

Uni-Foundations, Inc. provides formed concrete walls which are left unfinished after removing the forms. Patching by Uni-Foundations, Inc. may be required where concrete does not consolidate properly inside the forms. Air pockets are not uncommon and will not be repaired unless they exceed 1” in diameter by 1” deep. The patch material will not match exactly the adjacent concrete color. All rubbing, painting or other wall finish is the responsibility of the builder.

Wall Forming

Uni-Foundations, Inc. owns with a full range of flat face aluminum forms as well as forms with a brick pattern. Our standard forms are 3 foot, 4 foot, 8 foot, and 9 foot. There is an additional charge for forms with brick pattern.

Walls

• Concrete Mix: 3500 P.S.I.
• Steel: Horizontal #4 rebar at 2′ on center
• 2′ tall wall – 1 pc. Rebar throughout
• 4′ tall wall – 2 pcs Rebar throughout
• 6′ tall wall – 3 pcs. Rebar throughout
• 8′ tall wall – 4 pcs. Rebar throughout
• 9′ tall wall – 4 pcs. Rebar throughout

Concrete Color

Uni-Foundations, Inc. cannot guarantee the color of walls. Concrete color may vary with each load of concrete. Colored concrete may be used with the additional cost paid by the builder. Concrete residue on the forms may adhere to the walls when forms are removed. Uni-Foundations, Inc. will not be responsible for removing this residue from the walls.

Window and Door Opening

Window and door openings are formed with treated wood. All opening sizes provided by the builder will be considered as wood to wood dimensions unless otherwise noted on the plan.

Advantages of Poured Walls:

The poured walls are stronger than block walls and less subject to bulge or cave-in. They also have flexural strength times that of a block wall, and are poured with steel reinforcements inside.

Uni-Foundations, Inc. can pour your walls in almost any weather, whenever the footings can be put in, thus saving time and money. The walls can be done in as little as three days.

Solid poured walls help protect your family against the danger of Radon by having a higher density and fewer seams to allow Radon to leak in.

Because of its increased density and joint-free construction, poured walls offer twice the fire resistance of hollow core block. Poured walls have design flexibility and are adaptable to all home styles. 

Anchor Bolts or Straps

7” anchor straps will be placed to meet code requirements. Anchor bolts and other size straps are available at an additional cost to builder. Special spacing of straps is also available at an additional cost to builder.

Scheduling

Uni-Foundations, Inc. cannot guarantee exact dates of starting or finishing jobs. May variables affect our schedule such as weather, personnel, site conditions, etc. It is therefore impossible to guarantee exact dates. Please allow 3-4 weeks for initial scheduling of your project.

Correcting Work

Uni-Foundations, Inc. will correct work at no cost to the builder as necessary to conform to the builders’ plan. The builder will be charged for corrections caused by lack of information or incorrect information on plans. The builder is responsible for the inspections of our work and must notify us immediately if it does not conform to the plans so that the appropriate corrections can be made. Uni-Foundations, Inc. is not responsible for corrections to work of other tradesmen if we have not been notified of deficiencies in our work and been give adequate time to schedule and make corrections, prior to other trades beginning work.

Access To Site

Access must be provided to and around the foundation at points not more than 2′ below the top of the foundational wall. If site access is limited and/or wet conditions exist, either of which may require gravel, extra grading, towing, concrete pumps or cranes, the additional cost will be passed along to the builder. Uni-Foundations, Inc. cannot be responsible for damage to roads, curbs, sidewalks and landscaping caused by the movement of heavy equipment.

Additions

It is the responsibility of the builder to protect adjacent surfaces, landscaping, etc. from concrete splatter or other damage during the course of constructing walls and footings.

Excavation

A 3′ over dig is required on each side of the wall in order for work to be completed. All prices assume level excavations to soil with adequate bearing capacity, stepped if necessary to meet grade. If excavation is not level the cost of additional supervision and extra concrete required in footings on sites not level will be passed along to the builder.

Clean Up

Uni-Foundations, Inc. will remove all lunch trash and small debris created by the crew. Scrap lumber will be placed in the builders designated scrap pile. Concrete and pump trucks will need to wash out on site, which will be left for the builder’s disposal at backfill.

CAD Drawing:

Autocrete, by GDB Software, is a specialized CAD program built specifically for foundation contractors. Using this program we redraw the plans provided by the customer. This gives our crews the information they need to pour the basement walls quickly, efficiently and accurately. Every blue print and drawing is reviewed and re-drawn to assure the highest level of accuracy when doing your project.

Robotic Total Station Layout:

Uni-Foundations, Inc. will do the entire layout for the foundation after builders’ excavation; however Uni-Foundations, Inc. cannot be responsible for the exact location of the building. If an exact location is required due to setbacks or other considerations, the builder shall provide sufficient reference points within the excavation to locate the building. On lots with little or no tolerance the builder shall also provide points to verify location before the footers and walls are set. A special part of Uni-Foundations, Inc. service and workflow process is to take all the dimensional data from our AutoCAD rendering and export it to a robotic device. This device allows us to layout and pin your foundation at a high level of accuracy.