Concrete walls, grade beams, & foundations
Conventional foundations like basement footings & walls, grade beams on piles, and pad footings are probably most familiar to the general public. Variations on these are employed in most residential, commercial, and some industrial construction. CementWright will provide standard versions of these using forming systems such as Symons or other conventional systems, but we are also versatile and offer unique variations such as insulated concrete forms (ICF) or rebuilding a foundation under an existing house.
Concrete Footings
The basic structure of most residential foundations is a type of frost wall and footing. The footing is a strip of concrete that transfers the load carried on the foundation wall to the ground. Strip footings for the walls are usually cast at the same time as the pad footings for the point loads of the structure. Width of footings varies with load requirements, soil type, and conditions. Commercial or industrial footings for a frost wall system are often reinforced, while residential footings can be unreinforced subject to minimum conditions in the building code. The foundation wall, which can double as a retaining wall in the case of crawlspaces & basements, usually is centred on the footing. Footings can be cast separately or in the same pour as the wall.
Concrete Frost Walls
A frost wall usually refers to a footing and wall system sunk just far enough that the footing sits below the frost line; this is then backfilled on both sides and a slab on grade can be installed at ground level. Excavating the entire building footprint within a frost wall system makes a crawlspace, and extending the foundation walls of a crawlspace to full standing height gives a basement. Some variation in terminology occurs with locale, but this is common parlance in the Red Deer and central Alberta areas.
Value of Foundation reinforcement rebar
Reinforcing steel is used in most commercial and industrial foundation walls. Certain walls usually seen in residential construction can forego this in certain cases, subject to stipulations in the building code. This should be regarded as a code minimum design, however. CementWright submits that the increase in value from lifetime foundation durability, resiliency, and decreased maintenance achieved with increased steel and concrete grade well outstrips the extra cost. We build accordingly. A lot of builders build for initial price- we aim for value over the long term.
Concrete Grade Beam Foundations
Grade beams are built by constructing a reinforced concrete beam on piles. The beam carries the load of the structure above, and the piles transfer this load to the ground. Piles can be driven steel or concrete, concrete cast in place, screw piles, or any variation dictated by the design and site conditions. The concrete beam is usually reinforced with longitudinal rebar top and bottom tied into hoops or stirrups spaced consistently vertically. Cardboard void form or EPS compressible fill is placed below the grade beam to allow for seasonal soil movement that might otherwise destroy the foundation.
Full Service Concrete Foundations
CementWright can be contracted for the full range of scopes involved in footings, walls, and grade beam foundations. We also offer options to build in ICF, which is an excellent option for winter construction, or foundations where frost protection is required. We can offer options in the planning stages, or help with construction of a project that is already underway. Call us or fill out a contact form with details about your foundation project.