Waffle Mat Slab

The Waffle Mat system uses 19 1/2″ X 19 1/2″ X 8 1/2″ recycled plastic boxes. The boxes have a rim on two sides and can be used in sets of 4 or individually depending on the design. I decided on the individual boxes, even though they cannot be tied with the plastic ties that come with them, because there will be more rigid cross beams, and concrete is somewhat cheaper than the boxes. I paid almost $3000 for the 216 boxes plus delivery. But I was thrilled when Greg, the engineer, and Claudia Puertos, also an engineer and the regional sales director, decided to deliver the boxes to me directly. This personal attention showed that both of them are members of the project team of experts in their fields who helped with the design and implementation of this renovation.

They were able to speak with the structural engineer and to tell me about the system as well as take pictures. There are not many customers in Colorado (although I am not the first) and there are not many retrofit projects as most are new homes with slab on grade foundations. I hope my project makes it to their website.

They arrived with the boxes on Nov. 2nd. Greg and Alberto’s crew unloaded them into the garage, about 2 pallets full along with the boxes of ties. We walked the house site, with Greg giving Mark Benjamin and Alberto detailed instructions about the installation and design parameters, while Claudia and I discussed the foundation issues that the WaffleMat solution has been able to fix when big money was spent first on other types of solutions that did NOT fix the issues. I think it is pretty obvious that this is a sensible solution for expansive soils in Colorado, but Greg also strongly recommended accurate soils testing at the site, so that was the next step.

These photos are from the websites that illustrate the use of Waffle Mat.