Old Basement Walls Built With Pouring Concrete Into Wood Forms

Finally with the weather cooperating progress has been going great.

Old basement walls built with pouring concrete into wood forms.

Concrete tends to flake and break away easily which is difficult and costly to repair. As the name suggests poured concrete basement construction begins with the pouring of a footing for the foundation. Poured concrete basements are probably the most common type construction. By comparison all the laboriously assembled foundations of stone brick and mortar that have supported buildings for centuries even the walls of concrete block that most builders were using when this old house was launched 25 years ago are.

In heavy rains and harsh conditions wood is quicker to dry than concrete. People prefer this option because it s sturdy and simple. 2 x 4 s and 3 4 forming plywood works best. Forms are used to hold the wall in place as they dry.

Plywood forms are typically used where unique wall shapes sizes and embedment characteristics are present. Another area where cracks are commonly found is at the bottom of the basement walls. The plywood needs to be of forming quality. Concrete wall forms are typically made of plywood aluminum or steel.

I have seen many homes over 100 years old with wooden basements and concrete basements. The width and depth of the sheathing is dependent on the amount of concrete being poured. Place the first piece of wood sheathing along the string line. With wood it is much easier to repair reinforce.

Typically homebuilders will have a concrete foundation cure for about 7 10 days in our region so we must practice some patience. Thicker slabs require thicker sheathing which may be pine boards or plywood. If you pour a basement foundation the foundation walls will need to sit and cure a little bit before the next step can occur. The same techniques used below grade can be repeated with above grade walls to form the first floor and upper levels of homes.

Historically this has been one of the most common forms of building basement walls. Use treated wood if the wood will come into contact with concrete such as the wood floor plates of framed walls or wood furring strips that attach directly to basement walls. The 2 x 4 s should be no 2 kiln dried pine simply because it is cheap easy to work with and holds nails very well. The form will be lightweight and strong.

For tom good means steel reinforced foundation walls and footings made of poured concrete. Many consider aluminum and steel wall forming systems to be more productive efficient and even economical than wood forming. 1 inch by 4 inch boards are generally stout enough for up to 4 inches of concrete.