Stem wall foundation

Are stem wall foundations only good for mountain areas / rocky soil? This contractor is telling me this but I think he just wants to destroy the foundation that I've already made so he can charge me to make another or just doesn't know. Anyone know about this topic?

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  1. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    We use them out here is California. Plenty of homes built this way from the 1960s onward. They are nice in areas with very little frost heave because you don't have to go down very deep and it allows you to run all of your plumbing and HVAC under the house while still having relatively easy access to it.

    >This contractor is telling me this
    If you are only getting one quote you are getting scammed. 3 quotes minimum and let every one of them know you are getting other quotes.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      thanks for your opinion anon, no frost in the area where I'm building, I build it a few seasons ago so I kinda forgot all the research that I did and this guy is making me second guess stuff. It's just that he has the CEB blocks that I want so it seems logical to have him build as well, just seems more stream lined to have the same team.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      >If you are only getting one quote you are getting scammed. 3 quotes minimum and let every one of them know you are getting other quotes.
      fricking jej, good luck. it's hard enough getting ONE quote

  2. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >Are stem wall foundations only good for mountain areas / rocky soil?
    NO. They work fine in clay soil, fine in sandy soil, etc etc (as long as they are sensibly designed for soil loads etc)

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      thx anon, appreciate the feedback, yeah i couldn't find anything that said that. I think at this point im leaning towards keeping my foundation that I made.

  3. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Why would a competent contractor want to build on a mystery-meat, unpermitted, and uninspected foundation?

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Well I made the foundation so it's not mystery meat as you say but the country that I'm building in,they only know the way that they know. Also,i originally made the foundation for a much heavier type of block. Anways I'm sure you're just trolling not trying to actually discuss . . .

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        He has a point, most builders don't want to build on foundations that don't have well documented engineering and build histories available besides the word of the amateur who built them who also wants to save money saying " trust me bro, I built it stronger than it needs to be".
        It's the same with any build with a critical central structure like a car frame or a boat hull...if you can't convince the guy with data and logic that it's acceptable, he's not gonna accept that you are qualified to asees its structural integrity.
        That's not trolling, it's just common sense.

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          I mean the contractor isn't really questioning if it's good enough, he's more like, if you say it's good then it's fine with me, as there's no mechanism in the country for anyone being responsible other than myself.

          >it's not mystery meat
          Then provide some additional information and details.

          I can provide more info like the depth and width and size of the the rods that were put into the footing and stuff like that, just let me find the info. I'm more posting here because I want to get second opinions and I'm not an expert myself.

          I originally constructed the foundation for adobe bricks, which are heavy as, and I did a little overkill as well because they're so heavy, but now im going to CEB's which aren't much heavier than standard bricks AFAIK

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            >I mean the contractor isn't really questioning if it's good enough

            >only good for mountain areas / rocky soil...contractor is telling me this

            This would seem to imply that he thinks it's not good enough.
            If he's willing to go ahead anyway as long as you accept full responsibility for foundation failure, then that's more accommodating than most contractors.
            Ultimately it's about your faith in it and how much you value a warranty on something he builds.

            • 2 years ago
              Anonymous

              I mean, I can't find anything that says that a stem wall foundation is only good for rocky /mountainous areas. This is a developing / third world country so he could just be mistaken, I've had similar things happen before with "contractors" in developing countries. It's not like they're licensed or there's any regulation. I think that's the part that people in this thread are missing.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                Why not hire your own laborers instead?

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                that's actually what I did with the foundation and it was fricking hell, i mean it was a generally good experience but at one point they made my wife cry, lol. So i want to go with a "company" this time. Mind you, this is off the grid building so it's extremely fricking difficult, no machinary, blah blah blah.

                but I think im good now, one guy already said its not true about the rocky area thing so im going to keep going with my project, I think that's the best im going to get ooutta this place. I guess ill head back to PrepHole

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                >This is a developing / third world country so he could just be mistaken, I've had similar things happen before with "contractors" in developing countries. It's not like they're licensed or there's any regulation. I think that's the part that people in this thread are missing.
                Information like this is useful to include before you complain about people not considering it.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                >I think that's the part that people in this thread are missing.
                No, that's the part you failed to disclose when it's pretty critical to understanding the basic premise.
                Like critical enough to be the first thing you'd mention if you wanted people to have a chance at making a logical assessment of the situation.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                how so? And now that it's been said and you understand the basic premise what's your logical assessment of the situation?

                And you going to add something of value or just complain and nitpick that I made a mistake?

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                Post more and better pics of foundation.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                The pics in the op are just stock photos, not mine, I don't really want to post pics as to not get discouraged by trolls, this kinda serious so I want to stay positive and clear headed.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                You've chosen a difficult path. This is an image board and I respond more to image posters. Well, good luck and God bless.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                OP, have a look into the foundation sections of the IBC and IRC codes. They describe and prescribe techniques for building these types of foundations in most different soil types. There are methods available in the IRC which are "pre-engineered", so if you build using their specifications, then you will know that your design is acceptable.
                I know you said that you've already built yours, but at least it's something to compare to.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                >how so? And now that it's been said and you understand the basic premise what's your logical assessment of the situation?

                that you are a moron who needs to be in a place with no standards to survive, but still need help

                >And you going to add something of value or just complain and nitpick that I made a mistake?
                the only value in this thread is getting a laugh at the passive-aggressive dummy who can't articulate important details of his problem other than to say that he thinks hes being cheated but isnt sure, but hes also a capable builder, but also decided to completly change the materials he's building with after designing and building a foundation for something else, and its overbuilt so that shouldnt matter, but maybe not, and somebody help me but dont you dare say anything that might bruise my fragile ago or I might cry like my wife did during the very first phase of construction.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                Actually I was just wondering about the rocky soil part and seeing if you'd take the obvious bait.

                Thanks again for the info about the rocky soil question.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                How it started-
                >Anways I'm sure you're just trolling not trying to actually discuss . . .

                how its going-
                >seeing if you'd take the obvious bait.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        >it's not mystery meat
        Then provide some additional information and details.

  4. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    How deep is the stem foundation?
    How much rebar?
    How tall will you build?

    Generally the locals know best. I watched some hoity toity homosexual, engineer a building have it built despite the pile driving crew tell him every day he needed more pilings. Then his building started sinking, and they ripped the roof of and drove more pilings.

  5. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Slab is cheaper and so it's used whenever stem wall is not required. But some overkill doesn't hurt.
    Contractors (even western "licensed contractors" or even "superb western engineers" are mostly moronic, so you don't have to take their word as gospel. If they can't form a coherent argument why they don't like some method, then it's must likely that they just don't know it/aren't used to using it in this application and are not ready for change.
    Simple as.

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