Old Basement Walls Built With Pouring Concrete Into Wood Forms

For tom good means steel reinforced foundation walls and footings made of poured concrete.

Old basement walls built with pouring concrete into wood forms.

Historically this has been one of the most common forms of building basement walls. The width and depth of the sheathing is dependent on the amount of concrete being poured. The plywood needs to be of forming quality. I have seen many homes over 100 years old with wooden basements and concrete basements.

Place the first piece of wood sheathing along the string line. When a foundation is poured its footing a wide flat base made from concrete and reinforced steel designed. Poured concrete basements are probably the most common type construction. 2 x 4 s and 3 4 forming plywood works best.

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. Thicker slabs require thicker sheathing which may be pine boards or plywood. Concrete wall forms are typically made of plywood aluminum or steel. In heavy rains and harsh conditions wood is quicker to dry than concrete.

Typically homebuilders will have a concrete foundation cure for about 7 10 days in our region so we must practice some patience. As the name suggests poured concrete basement construction begins with the pouring of a footing for the foundation. If they will be reused then use treated lumber. 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.

Another area where cracks are commonly found is at the bottom of the basement walls. Cast in place cip concrete walls are made with ready mix concrete placed into removable forms erected on site. Plywood forms are typically used where unique wall shapes sizes and embedment characteristics are present. The same techniques used below grade can be repeated with above grade walls to form the first floor and upper levels of homes.

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. People prefer this option because it s sturdy and simple. 1 inch by 4 inch boards are generally stout enough for up to 4 inches of concrete. Forms are used to hold the wall in place as they dry.

Finally with the weather cooperating progress has been going great. Many consider aluminum and steel wall forming systems to be more productive efficient and even economical than wood forming. The form will be lightweight and strong.