Find Out About the Latest Homes for Sale First! We add our newest homes and other real estate listings to this web site first. It can be some time before they appear in the MLS. Find Out More > View All Offers >
"A model of how the Internet can facilitate the process of deciding where to send your children to school" - America's Best School Profiles by The Heritage Foundation
Buying Land and New Construction >Beware of Fat Clay
When building a home, you should have the soil on the construction site tested for plasticity to determine how it will change under different moisture conditions. This is important because some soil is so "plastic" that (if the condition is not corrected) it can actually break concrete floors, crack the walls and destroy the foundation of your home.
Highly plastic soil is sometimes referred to as "fat clay" that swells excessively and loses stability when it becomes wet. Fine-grained soils that contain a high percentage of clay are greatly affected by water, turning to mud when it rains and undergoing large volume changes-sometimes up to 40 or 50 percent, as the soil dries. Not only do clays swell and lose stability when they become wet, but they also retard the drainage of water. If plastic soil is found on your building site, the ground must be over-excavated and replaced with clean gravel. Homebuilders often choose not to include a basement, or to protect the basement walls from excess moisture by surrounding them with a layer of gravel. A fine-grained clay-filled soil with a high plasticity index may require considerable treatment, especially if used in a moist location.
What Newport, Rhode Island mansion was built as a birthday present and incorporates 500,000 cubic feet of white marble?
A
The Vanderbilt Marble House was constructed by railroad baron William K. Vanderbilt for his wife Alva, who later divorced him, remarried and moved into a mansion down the street.
The Christopher Anderson Team Metroplex Realty 122 Tulane Dr SE Albuquerque, NM 87106 505-220-6782 Fax: 505-266-4617 christopheranderson@number1expert.com
www.ABQMetroplex.com
is brought to you by Christopher Anderson
NUMBER1EXPERT in real estate for Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and East Side Mountains, New Mexico