While doing some googling on composting I happened to run across this thread. I have been studying expansive clay soils for the past 20 years. I thought I may be able to contribute a little. First off compost is expansive. You want to remove all organic material from any proposed building site. If you intend on building a new home hire an engineer. No one type of foundation will work on all soils. If you have ever had to have a foundation repaired you know that the expense if hiring the engineer is money well spent. After the home is built drainage is very important (Keep this in mind when determining the elevation of the foundation.) The dehydrated soil you are building on is currently shrunk due to our present drought. It can expand if drainage is not adequate. If you have an existing home adding compost will help only because it helps to retain moisture. The secret is to have moisture consistency. So if the home was built on dry ground then keep it dry. If the home was build on moist ground then keep it that way. I do not like soaker hoses. They tend to put out more water at the low points and less at the high points. A regulated drip system is my preference. If you take care of the upper layers of dirt it will help prevent moisture loss from the lower layers. Tree roots are the biggest problem. It takes several hundred gallons of water per day to maintain them. They will inevitable travel under the house for moisture, way past the drip line. Termites. All the ground in Texas is infested with termites. Foundations should have 6" of foundation exposure. All homes should have a regular program of termite control.

Have you considered the Whole House Treatment Concept? I live in an area that's highly prone to termite infestation. Therefore, I'm building most of my house with Yellawood products which is treated with micronized copper preservatives. Its termite and rot resistant. Using Yellawood for whole house framing is becoming more and more popular. However, before framing can begin, you must let the lumber air dry until the moisture content is 19% or less, or you could purchase Kiln dried lumber but thats more expensive. Also, Yellawood isn't as corrosive to fasteners as other pressure treated products are. Other options are also available such as Borate treated lumber. Check out the following links for additional info. http://www.southernpine.com/termiteinfo.shtml http://newstore.southernpine.com/images/ref308_0108.pdf http://www.greatsouthernwood.com/products/yellawood Here is a link that might be useful: Termite Resistant Structures

Method - I like the idea of the outside port, thanks for sharing. Not sure that would be cost effective for us though because our exterior wall footprint is pretty large (not a crazy big house, just spread out quite a bit). I have a friend who is also building though, a smaller slab house, and definitely going to tell them about that approach. Laurie - very good point on the warranty. I'm going to look into that. I don't see anything about the warranty/guarantee on their website. And after seeing this statement on their site, I doubt they have a guarantee: "In order to get in after the Termimesh termite barrier has been installed, termites must expose themselves in their mud-tubes on the outside of the house where they can be detected with a termite inspection." So it looks like they know that termites can still find other ways to get in, just not through the mesh they install. I'm wondering if it might be better to just do both the mesh AND the soil. The mesh quote was $700-900 and the soil was $1200. So for an extra $1200 it might be wise to do both for a little reassurance. Then again, I'm trying to find ways to reduce my budget. :)

g'day jan, we have quiet a few mounds on my property but then our house is constructed uisng steel. i think you will find that those mounding termites aren't the ones that will invade your house, they eat mostly dry grass and straw that sort of stuff. it is the subterranian types that you generally don't see that will invade your house and aparently not all of those types are baddies. all you can do is protect your wooden structures with pest control treatments. i have also been told that those mounds are a good indication as to how much underground water you may have as aparently they won't build where there is no water for them to get to underground, seems to hold true our block has good water below and we have a good showing of mounds to boot. the best form of termite protection is your vigilence and not building garden beds along the side of your house, keep beds a good 2 meters or so away and lay loose gravel paths around the house this gives nothing for the termites to hide under while they plan an attack this counts for laying cement paths right up to the house same problem created as with garden beds. best advice in rural build with steel. len