Block walls or Poured walls and my 2 cents...

Earlier on this past month I discussed the concept of doing ICF foundations and how they rate on an efficiency scale.  I mentioned my preference was not to use them and I preferred using a foundation wall construction that consisted of an exterior foam insulation design.  There are a few ways we can construct foundation walls on new homes when we decide to move that insulation to the exterior.  I commonly use two of them, block walls and poured walls.  Both wall designs have their benefits.

The first one I will explain is the block foundation wall.  We use the same type of footing depending on the plans designs for each of the wall designs.  With a block wall, we can typically install them much faster than a poured wall.  Layers or courses of block are added to achieve the desired ceiling height.  Typically a 12 course block wall will give you an 8' ceiling when finished.  A 13 course wall will give you an 8'6" finished ceiling height, and a 14 course will give you a true 9' ceiling height.  Depending on the size of the home, a block wall can also save you money over a poured wall.  Where they get their strength is from the open cores in the block we add steel rods to and pump them full of concrete.  This is called core filling.  This is also where the loads from the upper floors are transferred to the footing below the block wall.  Block walls are very strong and have very few problems associated with them when backfilled properly.

Poured walls are the next wall I will discuss.  Again, we use a footing similar to the block wall to begin setting up forms to design the poured wall.  These forms allow us to build the walls to any desired height since we can regulate how much concrete actually goes in the forms.  Prior to pouring the concrete, we add steel rods both vertically and horizontally.  This attribute is what truly gives the poured walls the added strength over the block wall.  When a load is being passed from the upper floors of the home to the foundation, it is transferred evenly over the footing instead of bearing on specific core filled points.  Keep in mind when I say stronger, that doesn't mean a block wall will function any differently when we are completed.  The concrete is then poured and cured in the form.  Once cured, the forms are stripped from the concrete and we are left with the poured wall.

Both wall constructions allow us to work with Pre-stressed garages and both are capable of working with throughout most of the calendar year.  If you have any thoughts or topics you'd like discussed in the future, feel free to drop us a line through our Facebook page or Website.  Thanks for reading and heres to a super 2011!