"A building appears as the landscape. The hard and fast lines between inside and outside disappear." Frank Lloyd Wright

Among the new and innovative features of the Usonian home is use of a floating floor mat that incorporates the home's heating system. In an article titled What We Learned From Frank Lloyd Wright, published in 1959 by home builder Jim DeRuse, the principle involves a 16" wide by 36" deep trench in which drain tile is laid at the bottom to remove any water infiltration. The trench is filled with crushed rock about the size of a person's fist.

Across the full span of the slab foundation between the trenches, the rock base is about 6" deep. With Mr. Wright's trench, the moisture finds the tile so the foundation stays dry. The foundation for the house is about 20 percent cheaper and 90 percent better than any that Mr. DeRuse had ever seen.

On top of the crushed rock of the slab lays a coiled system of ½" tubing wound throughout the floor at 20-24" between coils. Over the coiled tubing, a steel mesh reinforced concrete floor pad is poured to a depth of no more than 9" at foundation edge, to about 3½" in the central floor sections. The concrete pad was thicker and deeper around the foundation edge to support load bearing walls. Thus, the floor is a "floating" concrete pad on top of a crushed stone foundation.

The top layer of the concrete pad always incorporates Mr. Wright's trademark color - Cherokee red. Color is accomplished by having the mason trowel in, or steel float, a red iron oxide pigment (colorundum) into the final floor finish. Maximizing cost efficiency for the client, Mr. Wright's specifications direct the homeowner to lavishly wax all interior floor areas. This treatment produces a high gloss floor finish, as well as, seals and enhances the deep red colored floor.

Construction Innovations
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