The Foundation Decision Most Builders Skip — And Why It Costs You Later

There are things you can fix in a house. The foundation is not one of them.In this episode, Collier Bashara breaks down the step that happens before anything else on a custom home build — the geotechnical soils report — and explains exactly why it drives every foundation decision he makes.In this episode: What a soils report is and how it works. Fat clay versus lean clay explained simply. The Plasticity Index — what the number means and why it matters. How San Antonio clay actually moves over time — the crack, fill, and swell cycle. PVR (Potential Vertical Rise) and what 3.5 inches really looks like. Groundwater — what it is, how to find it, and how to design around it. All four foundation types: slab on grade, post-tensioned slab, drilled piers with suspended slab, and pier and beam with crawl space. The 5-foot and 8-foot rules for when soil removal stops making sense. The bathtub effect — why too much excavation creates new problems. Renovation foundations and why they have to match the existing structure.New episodes every week. Learn more at colliercustomhomes.com