Fertilize around building foundation

[Lizzy Fisher]

It's very common to have trees and shrubs around building foundations, and it's almost inevitable to fertilize them several times a year.
I know fertilizers are usually very bad for concrete, especially the ammonium sulphate which is called out in many concrete research papers but widely used in almost all Nitrogen fertilizers.
1. From the foundation engineering perspective, is the use of fertilizer around house foundation a concern?
2. If there is a concern, what's the guideline? Ex, distance, concentration, etc.

Thanks.

 

[jayrod12]

For foundation concrete not protected from exposure via waterproofing, we typically specify sulphate resistant concrete.

 

[Lizzy Fisher]

Sulphate resistance is mostly achieved by using the right cement type according to the soil and water test results. But these result will change after the building is completed and fertilizers are applied.

 

[jayrod12]

Maybe so, I'm just telling you what we do locally here. It's a solution to your concern if nothing else.

I'd bet it's mostly one of those don't ask don't tell kind of things.