best foundation for Alabama flatwoods

[DPForumDog]

What is the best foundation for a house on Alabama Flat Woods?   The soil is heavy clay.  We just bought a lot of acreage and now learned that a house foundation can be tricky.  I have read slab and crawlspace, but I have also seen pier and beam suggested.     

Thanks
Granny DP
DPForumDog

[DPForumDog]

Wikepedia defines flatwoods:  Flatwood is a soil series with impaired drainage that occurs in the southeastern United States. Flatwood soils are upland soils formed from marine sediments. A shallow water table plays a role in soil formation, typically the water table is only a few feet deep and fluctuates during the year.[1] Flatwood soils are classified in USDA soil taxonomy as fine, mixed, semiactive, mesic Aquic Hapludults.[2


It is mostly clay and you are either getting stuck or the ground is cracking under you.

[Don_P]

This sounds like a shrink/swell clay, they can be trouble. Consulting with local builders, officials and foundation contractors would probably be the best route to go in seeking advice. Often such soils take more than a prescriptive foundation and are usually engineered, some options that are often used are post tensioned slabs, pier and grade beam or piers that extend down to competent soils. I don't recall seeing examples of any of these foundation types on this forum, part of why I'm saying to check and see what is successful locally.

[MountainDon]

What Don_P said. He just beat me to it.    If it is done wrong, well, I found a number of foundation repair contractors in Alabama.