With most good lots gone, residential home builders are, on a regular basis, faced with a major challenge: expanding construction activities into areas that were before considered less than desirable: i.e. hillsides, areas of high water tables and sand/silt, bay muds, firm clays and organics, expansive and hydro-collapsible soil environments.

However, research indicates that this market segment – the construction of single and multi-unit housing in areas of “marginal” soil – is one of the largest remaining market segments available in all of home building, and the components necessary for construction represent a multi-billion dollar opportunity.

In these environments, builders cannot utilize the standard/common four inch cement slab foundation, and instead must substitute one that can withstand the rigors accompanying an installation where marginal soil exists. Traditionally, one of the following three approaches has been incorporated by home builders in this situation:

		post tension slabs
		pier and grade beam
		driven pile foundations

		the factors involved in doubling the size of a standard foundation and utilizing high tension cables
		dealing with drilling hazards, additional curing time/rebar/concrete and spoils
		an increased risk of future liability resulting from slab breakage/failure and mold

For nearly 13 years, PHS has been a leading provider of next generation foundation solutions for residential production homebuilders developing projects in areas where high water tables, firm clays and organics, expansive and hydro-collapsible soil conditions are prevalent. Our systems are specially engineered for fast, standardized, deployment in these areas of “marginal soil,” and provide significant savings in material costs, building cycle time, and future warranty issues.

PHS utilizes a “system integration” approach in designing its solutions. Instead of trying to“fit a site to a product” as many companies do, we first perform a thorough evaluation of a locations conditions, working with soil and structural engineers to determine all necessary requirements.

Today, the company’s Wafflemat, Elevated Slab and Raised Wood Floor systems are specially designed for areas with high water tables, firm clays and organics and low, moderate, high and critically expansive/hydro-collapsible soil conditions and include the Winslow Geo Anchor and Lateral Resistance Device components.

PHS products and systems enable developers to increase the speed, quality and quantity of construction, providing savings in material costs, building cycle time and future warranty issues.