Old Basement Walls Built With Pouring Concrete Into Wood Forms

As the name suggests poured concrete basement construction begins with the pouring of a footing for the foundation.

Old basement walls built with pouring concrete into wood forms.

If you pour a basement foundation the foundation walls will need to sit and cure a little bit before the next step can occur. Concrete wall forms are typically made of plywood aluminum or steel. Finally with the weather cooperating progress has been going great. The width and depth of the sheathing is dependent on the amount of concrete being poured.

The same techniques used below grade can be repeated with above grade walls to form the first floor and upper levels of homes. 1 inch by 4 inch boards are generally stout enough for up to 4 inches of concrete. Poured concrete basements are probably the most common type construction. Concrete tends to flake and break away easily which is difficult and costly to repair.

Cast in place cip concrete walls are made with ready mix concrete placed into removable forms erected on site. The form will be lightweight and strong. Plywood forms are typically used where unique wall shapes sizes and embedment characteristics are present. 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.

Forms are used to hold the wall in place as they dry. The plywood needs to be of forming quality. With wood it is much easier to repair reinforce. Historically this has been one of the most common forms of building basement walls.

I have seen many homes over 100 years old with wooden basements and concrete basements. Thicker slabs require thicker sheathing which may be pine boards or plywood. 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. Another area where cracks are commonly found is at the bottom of the basement walls.

For tom good means steel reinforced foundation walls and footings made of poured concrete. 2 x 4 s and 3 4 forming plywood works best. Place the first piece of wood sheathing along the string line. People prefer this option because it s sturdy and simple.

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. Typically homebuilders will have a concrete foundation cure for about 7 10 days in our region so we must practice some patience. In heavy rains and harsh conditions wood is quicker to dry than concrete.