How firm is your foundation?

Construction has begun on our future primary residence at 1203 Constitution Drive in Port St. Joe. We are thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to build on the bay in such close proximity to Port St. Joe High School where Wendy teaches sixth grade history as well as near to pretty much everything else – church, pickleball courts, the grocery store, and of course, my office. We are doing our best to lay a firm foundation in all aspects of our lives here in Port St Joe.

The first phase of construction on the house involved my son and me digging out the top 18-inch of the existing soil, piling it on the west side of the lot, and replacing it with a sandy clay soil that will compact well and serve as a solid base for the pilings (some people call them piles) and the concrete slab. As Mason and I dug away the old sandy soil, we found the concrete footers for the home that used to inhabit that footprint. We had to be very creative in how to get the mini-excavator to move these large, rebar-filled pieces up out of the ground and out of the way. We ended up having Will Ramsey and his team truck in almost 30 loads of sandy clay and smooth it for us so that our future slab will be at the same elevation as Highway 98 out in front of us (also known as Constitution Drive).

Our building permit was approved through what I thought was a pretty painless process and reasonable amount of time, and the pilings are being installed as I type this article. We have 24 pilings that will elevate and support our 2,450 square foot house with a front porch and a 1,000 square foot front deck from which we will entertain and enjoy the “man, -the-Lord-sure-is-good” sunsets out over St. Joe Bay. Of those 24 pilings, 21 of them must be installed 20 feet below the existing grade, and three of them must go down 25 feet. Dave Howard is responsible for drilling or jetting them down the initial phase of installation, but they all have to be driven at least the final six feet into undisturbed soil. The top of the pilings will sit at around 8 feet above our slab. Thanks to advice from my friend, Toye Roberts, who said that a strong thunderstorm at the right time in the tidal flow could bring water onto our lot, our slab and Highway 98 will be at around 7 feet above sea level. That means that the top of our pilings will be 15 feet above sea level, plus the 12-inch concrete beam that will serve as the horizontal platform for our floor joists. All in all, our finished floor will rest at almost 18 feet above sea level. We are in a flood zone (AE10) that I believe requires us to build at or above 11.5 feet ASL. We should be high enough to avoid water intrusion.

But, without a firm foundation of good soil that provides enough resistance and rigidity against the concrete pilings, all other aspects of the construction process are supported with mere hopes and prayers that things hold together. Does your financial situation have a solid foundation? Or does it exist only on shaky ground that could break away in certain situations and circumstances – stock market decline, real estate illiquidity, business failure, concentration in an asset, or dependence upon the life of a breadwinner? Firm foundations stand the test of time, weather, climate, disaster, uncertainty, abuse, growth, and passage from one generation to the next.

Gulf County resident Walter L. Woodrick is a certified financial planner practitioner, and the author of two books. His website is WoodrickFinancial.com, and his text number is 850.724.1369. Securities and advisory services are offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC. The opinions voiced in this article are for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. #606807-1