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Research Plan

What Are the Best Materials for Building a Foundation for a House with Settling Problems? 

Payton Zieske

7th Grade Science

Mr.Tom

3 February 2022

CONTENTS

Abstract……………………………………………………………………3

Question…………………………………………………………………...4  

Variables…………………………………………………………………...4   

Hypothesis…………………………………………………………………4

Background Research……………………………………………………...5

Materials List……………………………………………………………….6

Experimental Procedure……………………………………………………6

Data Analysis and Discussion……………………………………………...7

Conclusion………………………………………………………………….8

Acknowledgment……………………………………………………….

Work cited………………………………………………………………

Payton Zieske

Mr.Tom

7th grade Science

3 February 2022

What Are the Best Materials for Building a Foundation for a House with Settling Problems? 

Abstract

People really don’t know what materials are best for making a foundation good for an area with settling problems. For my science fair project, I will be testing 3 materials that are used to build foundations. Those materials are concrete, styrofoam blocks, wire bars, and reinforced wire. There are 3 types of foundations. One of them has a styrofoam barrier on the outside and the inside with concrete poured in the middle. The other foundations are slabs. The only thing different is the fact that one of them has a piece of wire in the middle.   

I am going to test the materials by building a 14” x 24” foundation made out of the materials and putting the foundation on a model of settling ground. I will make a model of settling ground using a thick board that will hold up the majority of the foundation but I will put a little bit of the foundation off of the board. Then I will add 5 pounds to the edge of the foundation till it cracks and breaks. I will do this so the foundation will settle faster. I was surprised when the solid slab of concrete held up the most weight. It held 45 pounds and then broke. The foundation that I thought would do the best but didn’t was the reinforced wire. The foundation that did the worst was the styrofoam wall foundation.

Question

What Are the Best Materials for Building a Foundation for a House with Settling Problems? I did this because there are house settles and I wanted to figure out how to make your house have fewer settling problems. 

Variables 

Independent variables = the materials I am using to build the foundation

Dependent variables = how much the foundation settles

Experimental Group

Controlled Variables for Each Group

Settling ground 

Same clay

Same soft soil 

Same water

All groups

Same size of the foundation

Same temperature (water freezes at low temperature)

  Hypophysis

I hypothesize that the foundation that is built out of wire and concrete will do the best at holding up the most weight.

Background Research

How do houses really settle and how can you fix it? Houses settle because the ground is moving out from under the house causing the foundation to crack and break and your walls to bend. The ground moves because You either have a bad dream image system for your water and water is getting under your foundation causing the dirt to settle or your house was placed on soft that was not compacted right. (“VISUAL INSPECTION OF CONCRETE”)

You can prevent settling by spending a month prepping the dirt and getting it ready for The foundation to be placed. This all takes time because you have to bulldoze so the foundation can have level ground. Then you have to soak the dirt with water and then roll the dirt. You do this until the dirt stops absorbing so much water. (“VISUAL INSPECTION OF CONCRETE”)

Did you know that concrete foundation were first made in 6500 BC by Nabataea traders in Western Asia but the foundations were not waterproof? It became waterproof when ancient Egyptian and Roman builders decided to add ash to the concrete making it waterproof. Before concrete foundations were made people put their houses on rocks and stones so that the house would not settle. (“The History of Concrete Foundations”)

When a foundation is settled, it can be fixed by enlisting a company to lift the foundation and make it level again. To do this, the crew must excavate under the specific areas of your house that are sinking. Then they place piers (sometimes called pilings) directly under the foundation. The piers are pushed far enough into the ground that they are stable. Your house foundation will rest on top of those piers making it level. (“HOW TO FIX A SETTLING FOUNDATION”)

Materials

• Styrofoam blocks
• Tape
• wire 
• Toothpicks 
• Square chicken wire
• Concrete 
• Screws
• 2x4 wood beam
• Flat thick wooden board

Experimental procedure

1. Build frames and outline for foundation
2. Poor concrete into foundation outline
3. Make settling ground model out of wood
4. Put foundations on the model of settling ground
5.  Add weight to cause the settling
6. Write down test results

Data Analysis and Discussion 

Reinforced wire foundation

35lb

Concrete slab foundation 

45lb

Styrofoam wall foundation

15lb

In my testing, I learned that wire in a foundation causes weak spots so the concrete slab did the best. The styrofoam one did the worst because it was built for a different area and I was just seeing if it would be stronger because nobody had tried it in settling ground that I know of. Next year I am going to test different wires in the foundation to see if the wire I used has an impact. 

Acknowledgment

I want to thank my mom for helping me with the foundation, my dad who gave me some good ideas, and my teacher for the science fair project idea. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, my hypothesis was wrong. Even though it was wrong I still learned a lot from my research and testing. I also learned that it is important to test things more than once so you get a more accurate test. On the bright side my testing went smoothly and was fast or else I would have had problems trying to get all of the requirements in on time.

 Work Cited

“HOW TO FIX A SETTLING FOUNDATION.” 2018.

https://hdfoundationrepair.com/fix-settling-foundation. Assessed Jan 12.

“The History of Concrete Foundations.” 2020. https://foundationpro.com/2020/11/11/foundation-pro-the-history-of-concrete-foundations. Assessed Jan 10, 2022.

 “VISUAL INSPECTION OF CONCRETE” https://ccpia.org/visual-inspection-of-concrete. Assessed Jan 8.