Hey, Andrew!
Hope all is well with you and your family. I had such a great time at the workshop in Tennessee last summer. I decided to pass on the land I was considering last fall. It just didn’t have enough level land to suit my plans. But, I do keep looking! Here’s a question: Do you send out your blog posts as you write them, or do I have to remember to go to your website and look for them?All the best to you in 2012!
Kim
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Hi Kim. I do send out newsletters from time to time with some links to blog entries, but I don’t link to every entry I write. I suggest you check back when you can. You can always scroll through the entries from time to time. Hope you are well!
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Kim – Andrew does have an RSS feed available for his blog page; you can pop that into your homepage’s reader or newsfeed(or use onle of the handy “add to” buttons also on the blog sidebar if one matches your homepage) and then you’ll have a box on your homepage that will let you know at a glance when there is an update. I hope that helps; not sure how techie you are or if you have a techie friend or relative to help… 🙂
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Hi Andrew! My partner and I are planning to build a strawbale home this summer and we are considering adding a ponywall to the foundation to raise the bales a little higher off the ground as we live in Northwestern Ontario and we get a lot of snow (concerned about bottom course of bales being under snow for part of the year on whatever side of the house the window gusts against). However, building a pony wall thick enough to hold the strawbales means adding a lot more concrete to our build. Could we use rocks to in-fill the concrete forms of the pony walls, then pour the concrete in (we’d do this in lifts and tamp down the concrete to ensure no air pockets)? Does that sound reasonable or very risky?
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That can be done if the building department approves it. There are risks involved, but it should be possible. I think a better way to go might be to add a lot of used concrete chunks to the forms and then pour a thin concrete slurry around all of it. use a vibrating machine to be sure that everything settles in and fills properly.
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Hi All. I realize this article was a number of months ago, but it seems you know quite a bit about foundation work, so I was hoping you might have advice for us. We don’t know where to turn for second opinions.
Here’s the doozy.
After two years of preparation work, we finally got our house build moving forward. 1200 sq ft foot print. Everything seemed to be going well. Our builder subcontracted the foundation work. They poured the footings, built the forms, and about 9 days after footings were poured, the walls got poured. Major frustration aside, we found out today that the concrete workers were about 2 feet short on a wall. They measured wrong and now need to add concrete to an already-poured-wall that is about 20 feet wide. We are pissed to say the least. Our builder is taking the structural engineer up there to assess how to handle this. The weather is changing and freezing temperatures are due in about 8 days. Do you have any experience in this type of mistake, and if so is it possible to have a solid foundation wall that is “patched”? ie. wet concrete poured onto drier concrete. Please help with any advice….
Hi Sarah. Sorry for the frustration. Things like that are very disappointing, especially when the excitement of building is interrupted. They should be able to add the necessary correction to the wall without too much trouble. I would expect the engineer to require that the new concrete be “tied into” the poured concrete via metal rods of some type. It’s not uncommon to join concrete in this way, although not as ideal as a correct pour would have been. Once “joined” mechanically, there should not be a structural issue at all moving forward. Good luck and let’s hope it’s all good news moving forward…
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Whoops. I meant Hi Andrew! Sorry bout that. Hope you can offer some advice…
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Hello we got a bad contractor and the interiorfoundation walls have honeycombs and a cold joint around the entire perimeter. We do not know how the exterior is because he backfilled. And to make matters worse decided to leave out the drainage around footing. (Water table is 0-10′) so his solution for drainage is
3’x12″ of 3″ rock around the entire perimeter. It does not make any sense to me. And the was the figuring of lbs. Per sq.in. ilof load ranges on paper same from backfill to all that gravel? And the concrete not being vibrated and showing honeycombs as well as the cold joint be effected by the weight of all that rock
They are side by side. The concrete engineer and contractor say its cosmetic but I’m not buying it since he told me the issues were only on interior and the exterior concrete is fine and its just filling in with mud and done. No structural problems to worry about. Our house is from 1901 and 28’x47′ and crooked as well as bowed. Is this guy a liar and my foundation compromised? Because for $260+ thousand it should be grandeur and solid as a rock in my book. How do I found out extent of air pockets in a 8″ thick wall if he only plans on fixing one side. And since there is no technology to look into wall we will just have to ride on his warranty. That helps me sleep good at night okay???
Buy American!!!
An earthquake is coming soon I can feel it. Are we doomed with this poor excuse of a foundation that was poured by them?Log in to Reply
Sorry you’re having this challenge. The good news is that honeycombing is not a big deal if that’s the extent of the issue. In other words, it’s not uncommon to see surficial honeycombing on concrete. That can be fixed by simply hitting the sides of the forms with a hammer while the concrete is wet. It’s not about voids in the middle, just surficial finish. That said, if there are bigger issues INSIDE the wall, that could be a problem, but there’s no way for me to know that.
Cold joints aren’t a big deal either as long as there is adequate rebar in the foundation. After all, concrete does not have a good tensile strength, thus the need for rebar to hold things together.
In terms of the drainage. the gravel will work…for a while. If there is no landscape fabric over the rock, it will eventually fill with silt and no longer drain properly. If it’s wrapped in fabric, it will be fine. It’s an old-school way of providing drainage. It needs to actually drain TO somewhere though. Having a trench around teh house filled with gravel will only allow water to flow into that trench. If it has an outlet (sloped to drain downhill, or sloped to drain to a dry well) then you will be fine.
Being that I only have the information you provided and have not seen the project first hand, my comments are all best case scenario suggestions. To really get a solid answer, I recommend you bring in an engineer or inspector to look at the areas of concern. They can give you direct advice on what’s best based on what is happening on scene, much more than my distance advice. Good luck.
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Hi Andrew,
Our contractor dug 3.6m width but as the concrete was being poured the sides started to cave causing uneven area and a very wonky foundation. It is now 3.3m and to rectify it he is saying he will dig a new footing right beside it and add metal rods from the old concrete (just been poured) to the new one. How would he go about this also is this the right way?
Thanks,
Ash
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Hi Ash. My first question is why do you need such a wide foundation? You only need to support the structural frame and the bales. That can all be managed in 18″ or less. If you do need to fix the foundation from an aesthetic or structural standpoint, then providing the rods from the old to the new will work. Some important details to consider are that the rods need to be epoxied into the old concrete and should be bent to fully grab the new pour. A straight rod won’t hold well in the fresh concrete.
Secondly, you need to make sure that the outer edge of the concrete is as flat and straight as possible so you can frame on it well. If it’s close to straight now, I would recommend leaving it as is and working with the frame to adjust the abnormalities, assuming they are within a tolerance that would allow for the necessary adjustment. Hope that helps.
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My husband and I are considering having our house raised so I wanted to learn more about its foundation and why it’s important. It is so true that your whole house relies on your foundation to support it, so it is really important that it’s strong no matter what kind it is. It seems to me like the foundation of your house is not something that should be overlooked. Whether it is concrete, raised, or any other kind, it is very clear to me that it’s important! Thank you for the information.
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I’m glad you mentioned waiting until the water has evaporated off the top of the slab before you trowel. My spouse and I are planning on building a new home this year and are really excited. Thank you for your information on the importance of foundation work!
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I didn’t realize that rebar in your foundation can cause issues if it is placed too close to the edge of the concrete. My husband and I want to build a second garage on our property, so we have been looking into what it would take to get started with the construction. Since the foundation is so important, it is one thing that I know I want done right. When we hire someone to help with the project, I’ll have to ask them about how they plan to place the rebar.
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Good plan. In most cases, a contractor will know about proper placement, but always good to confirm! 🙂
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A friend of mine is going to hire a contractor to start building their dream house. She specifically wants to make sure that she finds one who will make a strong foundation for their house because she is most anxious about having a place that is not strong enough. And I agree that having a strong foundation should be the priority because it will not be easy to fix a damage in that part of the house. Thanks!
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I really like how you mentioned that any problems with the foundation of your home will only get worse as time goes on. I think that’s why it’s so important to make sure the foundation and the stumps of your home are secure to begin with, so that there are no severe problems later on. My friend is noticing that many parts of her home’s exterior aren’t level, and she’s worried that she needs her foundation fixed or her home restumped, but she isn’t sure what she should do. After reading this article, I will definitely recommend that she look for a reliable house restumping service in her area to strengthen the foundation of her home and protect it from future problems.
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It’s great that you pointed out how ensuring that the foundation is built to the very best standards possible is very much worth it. We are planning to build a new house and obviously, we need to start with the foundations. Expertise is a must for this, so I’ll ask a foundation specialist to take care of this work.
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Hi Andrew,
I appreciate your work over the years. I have benefitted from your publications.I am disappointed to see that you have not included alternative foundation technology. The most energy efficient home that I built and use the technology developed by the building research branch of the national research council of Canada. This technology uses a deep (2 feet minimum) layer of 2 inch washed rock in the bottom of the foundation hole. On top of this is built a level floor of PWF with a minimum 2 inch space to the walls of the dugout. Once the walls of the preserved wood foundation are built, the gap to the edge of the dugout is filled with 2 inch washed rock. With adequate provision of drainage of the dugout so the water has somewhere to go, this provides totally water free foundation.
I would appreciate it very much. If you would include a blog about alternatives to concrete, since concrete is the most energy INEFFICIENT material in the building trade.
Thanks for your good work, PaulLog in to Reply
Hi Paul, Thanks a lot for your valuable feedback and for sharing your experience with alternative foundation technology. I really appreciate it! I want you to know that I’m actively working on adding more diverse and energy-efficient techniques to our future blogs. The wood foundation method you mentioned sounds super interesting, and we’re actually going to be involved with something similar in our upcoming workshop in Ann Arbor, MI. I’ll make sure to document the whole process and share it in a future blog. Thanks again for your support, and keep an eye out for more updates!
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Why are we using concrete foundations? Why not clay and stone ? natural materials????
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When it comes to foundations, there’s a wide range of materials, shapes, and methods that can be used. In this article, we’re just getting started and touching on the basics. Now, while it’s true that there are alternatives to using concrete in foundations, let’s not forget that concrete still takes the spotlight in most cases. We see this article as a golden opportunity to explore foundations as a whole, with concrete as a reliable resource and the most popular material out there. Stay tuned for upcoming articles that will specifically discuss alternative foundation methods.
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Hey Andrew!
This clearly highlights the critical role a foundation plays in the entire straw bale building process. The emphasis on avoiding “compounding defects” by ensuring a well-built foundation makes perfect sense.For someone new to straw bale construction, are there any specific features or design considerations to keep in mind when choosing a foundation for a straw bale house? Could be super helpful for my guys!
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The primary consideration when selecting a foundation for straw bale construction is the added thickness of the wall and the extra loads from the plaster’s weight. The size and orientation of the bales—whether two-string (14”x18”x36”) or three-string (15”x23”x46”) and whether laid flat or on edge—will determine the additional size requirements. Any increase in size will result in the need for more concrete and steel, thus increasing the overall cost.
Consider aligning structural posts with the straw bales to optimize the foundation design and reduce the need for additional concrete. For instance, a 4×4 post and beam infill system achieves this, as opposed to a timber frame structure with a straw bale wall wrapped around it. The foundation serves a dual purpose when the structural elements and the straw bale walls are aligned in-plane. In contrast, in the timber frame example, the foundation design must address the structure and the bale wall separately.
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