What Does It Mean to Have a Beach Sand Foundation?

Here’s why beach sand foundations aren’t ideal for homes.

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So you’re house hunting in New England, see one you like, but find out that—oh no!—it has a beach sand foundation. What now?

In New England, the three most common foundation types for homes are stacked stone, brick, and concrete. The foundation is exactly what it sounds like: the strong support on which everything else is built. Homes roughly 100 years old or older almost always have stacked stone foundations. ‘Stacked stone’ means that when the home was being built, builders would gather all nearby field rocks to use for the home’s foundation, stack them up, and use mortar to hold them together.

You can see an example of this at 0:40 in the video, and that picture is actually my home’s foundation. My property is an 1870s Victorian home with a deep, stacked stone basement. The upside of having a stacked stone foundation is that many homes built on top of them throughout the world are still standing—consider the ‘older’ parts of the world that have buildings that have been standing for 500 or 600 years. Sometimes the stones used for these foundations were specifically shaped (if the homeowner had extra cash), and sometimes the builders just used rubble.

 

 

 

So again, stacked stone foundations with strong stones and mortar last a long time—the only question is with the mortar. Why are beach sand foundations bad? It means the mortar was partially made with beach sand. It’s cheaper in places like Newport to simply go to the beach and use that sand to make mortar. After all, it’s free.

The problem is that beach sand is round due to the way it’s formed. Mortar sand, on the other hand, is specially milled so that the grains have sharper edges that interlock. However, if you look again at the picture of my basement, you’ll notice a lally jack next to the window, which I use to shore up the foundation since it has beach sand in it. You can do the same thing with your home, but I recommend reaching out to an engineer or contractor first.

So remember, buying a home with a beach sand foundation requires a little more investigation and awareness on your part. If you have questions about this topic or there’s anything else I can help you with, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to hear from you.