Part 2 — The Foundation Plan | Sheet by Sheet
Every house sits on it. Most problems start beneath it. The foundation plan is the first structural sheet in the set — and the one that has to be right before anything else can move forward. Get it wrong and you're not fixing a drawing. You're fixing concrete. What it shows: Foundation type — slab, crawl space, or basement Footing locations, sizes, and depths Bearing wall locations above Step footings on sloped lots Anchor bolt and hold-down locations Thickened slab areas under load points The three foundation types: Slab on grade — most common in NC, SC, GA. Concrete poured directly on prepared ground. Fast, cost-effective, but zero tolerance for grading errors. Crawl space — elevated foundation with ventilated space below. Common in flood zones and sloped sites. More complex to document — vents, access points, and vapor barriers all need to be shown. Basement — least common in the Southeast but critical to get ...
