If A Foundation Is Started In Cold Weather (currently Live In Illinois), Can It Lead To An Unstable House? Should It Be Best To Wait Until Winter Is Over Before Pouring The Foundation?
Aloha...This document might provide some useful answers for you. I am not a contractor, but I would think that the foundation would be better if poured in temperatures above 32 degrees Fahrenheit so that you're not building on ice in the ground or dealing with frost around any of the footings. Tana-Lee
I'm in Minnesota and we've got construction going on all the time, BUT WE NEVER POUR FOUNDATIONS into freezing ground. Because when it thaws in the Spring we'd have a real mess of lumps, water - here and there....nothing smooth or level. So we pour in the Fall. Cover it with canvas for a few days, uncover for a few more days, make sure it's dry. And from there on, during the long freeze when it's cold out, we can lay brick, lay cement blocks, put windows in, flooring, plumbing and electrical work...... None of these jobs have anything to do with the earth....THAT earth factor (the dirt) was settled down tight and packed solid a long time ago (in the early Fall or even back in the Summer). Now we can do these inside jobs. Some put a heavy thick plastic down first, to have a barrier between the cold dirt and the new cement,then pour after mixing in a touch, not much, of antifreeze. Don't ever be in a hurry. If it's above 10 degrees then maybe no antifreeze. ???-use your judgment here...sometimes the boss says...."No antifreeze. It's above zero. We'll be back in 1 month." Then cover everything with a heavy canvas making sure no cold wind can blow in. I've even seen where they hooked up a hair dryer on a small project. Let everything sit for 1 week, maybe 2 weeks. Illinois? - Should be easy...no antifreeze...just plastic barrier and the canvas ...and 2 weeks.
