Developers are realizing the enhanced profit potential of building Green homes and commercial buildings. LEED Certification, Passive House Standards and Net Zero Energy Buildings are all ways of offering a premium product to the market, and Legalett's Slab-on-Grade solutions get any building project off to a great start, but that's not all...

 

​How can Commercial Builders & Developers Benefit from using Legalett?

 

Foundation Cost Consistency

When building similar houses in areas of different soil types, the design of the foundation is based on the soil conditions of the site. Foundations designed for poor soils conditions have stronger (and more costly) foundations.  This increase in cost does nothing for the client - it only adds cost (and variability) for the builder. Since the low-cost Legalett system is a design suitable for poor soils without any changes, the builder's foundation cost is essentially fixed at a low cost, regardless of the soil type.

 

Ability to Make Use of Land with Poor Soils

Legalett can be used to allow the builder to build in soil types that are simply not practical with traditional foundation designs, thus allowing the builder to make good, profitable use of areas that would otherwise have to be abandoned.  If the poor soils are buried, since the Legalett foundation does not go deep into the ground, poor soils that would only be encountered at the depth of a traditional foundation are also avoided by the Legalett system.

 

Cut and Fill Reduction

Since there is no buried foundation/basement, cut and fill requirements are eliminated with the Legalett system.  If the existing grade is suitable, then the roads are installed to suit that grade, and only simple landscaping is required to make the grade uniform, instead of a costly subdivision-wide program of cut and fill, not to mention that excessive fill often adversely affects mature trees by altering the existing grade in which they are rooted.

 

No Effect on Water Table - Doesn't Kill Mature Trees

A traditional subdivision, with its multiple basements, and foundation drainage, will typically lower the existing water table.  Lowering of the water table will adversely affect existing mature trees by depriving them of the moisture, which they gather via their developed root system.

 

Since the Legalett foundation is built on the ground instead of in it, it does not lower the water table. Houses with Legalett foundations can be built in areas with mature vegetation, with no negative environmental impact.  Legalett is thus an environmentally friendly way to build, avoiding root damage and preserving existing water tables and mature vegetation.  Legalett is perfect for establishing a subdivision in an area with mature vegetation, whereas traditional basement construction would kill these mature trees.  For obvious reasons, a subdivision with mature vegetation is much more appealing than the typical cut-and-fill barren landscape.

 

Elimination of Footings and Frost Walls

While we've already mentioned that Legalett eliminates footings and frost walls, the elimination of footings and frost walls for interior or party walls or posts deserves special mention.  The 8" slab provides more than adequate support for interior party or bearing walls and posts, eliminating the complex and costly network of interior strip footings that is common with multi-unit structures.  With Legalett, the designer need not be concerned with the placement of interior party or bearing walls, and changes in the building design with respect to these walls can even be made after the slab is placed, with no loss in structural integrity!

 

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This point emphasizes the design flexibility of the Legalett System with respect to loading, since it's essentially a thickened slab everywhere!.  When doing cost comparisons for multi-unit structures, it is important to include the savings in both the installation costs of these interior footings and frost walls, but it is important to also recognize the reduction in difficulty in working with a site that does not have a multitude of interior strip footings and frost walls inside the outer perimeter, especially with regard to moving equipment, material and fill inside the perimeter before the slab is placed.

 

Download Legalett's complete System Advantages Overview Brochure here.

 

• Quick Links:
• How Legalett's Frost Protected Shallow Foundations & Air-Heated Radiant Floor System Works
• Benefits of the Legalett GEO-Slab System
• How GEO-Slab Eliminates Mold & Mildew
• How GEO-Slab Prevents Radon Gas
• Green Features of Legalett Products
• Advantages for Schools & Daycare Facilities
• Advantages for Government & Institutional Buildings
• Advantages for Retirement Communities & Elder Care Facilities

 

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