Building a Crawl Space Foundation | Paul Rea

Paul Rea teaches how to build a "crawl space" foundation for a residential building. He shows how to construct the footing and stem walls for the concrete foundation. The video has the actual footage of the concrete pour. He also discusses mono straps, rebar, foundation vents, UFER grounding wire, strength of concrete, when to strip the concrete forms, and when the foundation can be built on. The building is a Single Family Residence with an attached Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) located in Springfield, Oregon. Paul Rea is a Construction Technology professor in Oregon at Lane Community College.

[@DBRGB]

Wish I had you down here in South Carolina, because this was an excellent job!!! CRAFTSMANSHIP!!!

[@buildinghouses]

Thanks for the positive comment. We appreciate it.

[@ZAPATTUBE]

Thank you sir, you explained Everything in great detail, without being boring. Good job!

[@buildinghouses]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mst5632]

A good basic lesson on foundation work. Nice job, Paul.

[@buildinghouses]

Glad you liked it!

[@victortorres3187]

thank you, very nicely explained!

[@buildinghouses]

Glad it was helpful!

[@evo6swap]

Thank you beautiful information awesome work please make more like this

[@buildinghouses]

Thank you, we will try to make more. Thanks!!

[@clarencezack-cade3956]

I knew this was Oregon before you even said lane! I could tell by the trees!

[@buildinghouses]

Go Oregon!!! :)

[@patrickperry9061]

Really good video.

[@buildinghouses]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. We appreciate the comment.

[@Sjcnruvhrj]

Awesome video

[@buildinghouses]

Thanks for the positive comment

[@teogomez5153]

este hombre explica muy bien todo este proceso, muy buen trabajo.

[@buildinghouses]

Gracias. Thank you.

[@alexgoriatchenkov]

Hello, it is nice video really visible how to.... One question bothers me; about frosted line...I'm locater in N Connecticut area and probably have to digging deeper for similar foundation type? 42 inch here looks like...starting soon my project. Thank you.

[@buildinghouses]

Good luck with your project.

[@dluxdiy]

Any suggestions on where to buy the monostrap and spreader cleats as a DIYer? I am doing a similar foundation for a 16' x 24' home addition (I'm in Keizer, OR). I plan to use 2x dimensional lumber for all the forms, 2x8 for the footings (16" w), and (2) 2x10 for 6" wide stem walls. In between the (2) 2x10s I plan to use Simpson wt-6 ties with w1 wedges. I found a decent supplier for those online, but not having a ton of luck on the others. Really appreciate the videos. My house is low to the ground, so I'm doing the top flange hangers like you did in a later video. I learned a ton from all your videos, and they helped me get my structural permit smoothly :) Thanks!

[@buildinghouses]

We used Mason's Supply for the monostraps and spreader cleats. It looks like there is one in Salem. There are also 5 around the Portland area. Good luck on your project!!!.

[@dluxdiy]

@@buildinghouses Appreciate the quick reply. I'll check them out. Thank you!

[@andreawagner3954]

@Dlux DIY were you able to buy the mono straps from mason supply? We are in Independence OR and doing the same thing as you, but they wouldn’t sell to us as homeowners. Any other place you found them? Good luck on your project!

[@dluxdiy]

@@andreawagner3954 I was told the same thing as you. I ended up finding them at Kilgore Blackman's on S Commercial in Salem. I'm actually finishing up my forms this week and pouring next Tuesday! GL on your project as well!

[@rfischer1990]

Great video! I am planning to build a house and really like the cleat ties and plywood form boards for an easy stem wall form. However, it looks like it's not very cost effective for a one time use? Having enough 1" plywood to form up the entire stem wall must cost thousands of dollars. Were these plywood boards ones that Paul already had and was just re-using?

[@buildinghouses]

Hi Robert. I looked back at my records and we bought the form boards back in 2019 for a total of $725.00. In this video this was our 3rd time using these form boards. We have since used them on a 4th building. If you can get a good deal on the form boards it may be cost effective for a single use? Maybe you can resell them??

[@user-pq9vn8om2z]

Thank you for a great tutorial on how a crawl space foundation is constructed. Two questions. Once the area is excavated, is compacting recommended before installing the forms? Also, is the main water line run under the footing or is a hole bored through the footing?

[@buildinghouses]

1) Yes, once excavation is done, compacting the whole area especially where the forms will go is a necessity. 2) The plumber puts a plumbing pipe in the footing, a small one for the water line and a larger one for the sewer line before the concrete is poured.

[@buildinghouses]

The pipe installed in the footing is larger than the water line and sewer line. After the concrete cures for a few days and the footing form boards are removed, the plumber can then run his water line and sewer line through the footing.

[@geraldfranci6821]

Can you pour a footing with a full height stem wall say around 9 feet at the same time

[@buildinghouses]

From Paul Rea: "Sure, you just have to let the footing set up enough so that the concrete doesn't get forced out. Pouring it in lifts of 2 feet or so would accomplish that."

[@reiddeschand2385]

Great video. What if you wanted to crawl between stem walls. Would you block out an access hole and frame it with a header or how would you go about that?

[@buildinghouses]

Take a look at our other video "Framing a Crawl Space Underfloor". Paul describes how to frame out an access hole in the video. Thanks for the comment.

[@reiddeschand2385]

@@buildinghouses thanks. I watched the video. What I am talking about is a horizontal access through the stem wall. Can you explain that please?

[@buildinghouses]

Sorry for the late response. I talked to Paul. He reminded me that on this duplex building the stem wall is part of the fire wall. So you can't have access between the buildings because it would compromise the firewall. The firewall is discussed on the "Building Walls for a (Duplex) House" video and it is discussed on the "Rolling the Trusses (How to Put Up Trusses)" video.

[@nasserrazmyar71]

Good afternoon Thank you for the great demonstration. I have an area of 6'x2'x1' deep. Is four rebar spaced 8" vertically and 8" horizontally is sufficient for my project? Thank you

[@buildinghouses]

Can you describe in more detail the project that you are doing? Is this for a foundation? Where is the project located?

[@nasserrazmyar71]

@@buildinghouses yes, I am adding a 6x 20 addition to the side of the house. I have dug a u shap trench 24 wide and 16" high and 6+20+6 trench. Thank you

[@buildinghouses]

I wasn’t able to get an answer from Paul. Too many unknowns. I would check in with your local building department to check over your design. Different regions of the country need to have footings at certain depths. They can also advise you on drainage issues at the footing and how much rebar is needed.

[@orowizard1369]

Really informative video, thanks. How much did/would that/your exact project shown in your video cost, concrete at what price, leveling and conditioning ground at what depth (I have clay at 6 inches in zone 8a), labor and materials, so I can compare prices and adjust for my prices? Edit: Also, did you add any more rebar in stem wall, won't the spacers on top of footing rust and weaken the concrete, and do you add any additives in concrete to make it waterproof?

[@buildinghouses]

Glad you enjoyed the video. We spent $1,620 on vents, mono straps, rebar, foundation cleats, anchor bolts, and some footing forms. We had purchased the stem wall panels a few years ago and had some 2x8's for the footing forms on hand. The concrete cost $2,848 and $345 for the concrete pumper. It was a class project so no labor cost. I believe the excavators dug down, rocked the pad at 1 ft depth. Our finished grade was around 18". Paul mentions in the video that finished grade in Lane County is 12" , Bend is 18", and Klamath Falls is 24". There is one course of rebar in the stem wall (you can see it on the video during the concrete pour). Part of the mono straps (spacers on top of the footing) that are exposed do rust however I don't think the part that is encased in the stem wall will rust? I don't believe we put any additional additives on the concrete.

[@orowizard1369]

@@buildinghouses Thanks a lot! You ought to pin your own answer, so lots of folks can see this valuable info. You are the only one that has ever given me such a complete answer.

[@orowizard1369]

hmmm, I was reading Tim Olguin's reply to my comment and decided to re-watch video and see that it is not marked liked or subscribed. What gives, I definitely did those 2 things. grrrr

[@titanicgaming202]

Distance c/c anchor bolt?

[@buildinghouses]

No more than 4 ft distance between anchor bolts.

[@dsabo2011]

So much air in that foundation, setting it up for long-term failure. Concrete vibrators are imperative for a proper load bearing wall/foundation etc. Use of a vibrator allows for proper adhesion to rebar and reduces air pockets (which leads to structural weakness and flaking). Vibrators are our friends :)

[@buildinghouses]

From Paul Rea: Yes I agree there is a time and place for a vibrator when placing concrete. I had the concrete batched at 3500 psi and sent out at a 5 slump with the intention that it could have water added if needed and not compromise the concrete strength adversely. The only place a vibrator would have been remotely useful in this application would have been for the footings. However, knowing that I wanted the concrete to pile up in the stem wall six inches or so on our first round of the pour, it was easier to consolidate the concrete in the footings with a small board or tapping the outside of the footing just enough to accomplish the task. Touching any of that with a vibrator would have made the concrete empty from the stem wall and overrun the top of the footing. It already over ran more than I wanted and was more work than it should have been. Concrete did not flake, there were no voids and I am confident of its strength and integrity. Paul Rea

[@Brandon-no3vc]

why build a craspace?

[@buildinghouses]

Crawl space foundations work better in earthquake regions and with soils that are more prone to sliding. In addition, crawl space foundations provide easy access to the plumbing. (No having to jackhammer concrete on a slab foundation in order to get to the plumbing when there is a problem)

[@dangda-ww7de]

why so many people are they working for free?

[@buildinghouses]

Students from Lane Community College Construction class are working on this project to get hands-on experience. Paul Rea is the professor at Lane.

[@youalreadyknowwhoitis7283]

Sorry but you got to many damn people working there

[@buildinghouses]

It is a college construction class getting some hands-on experience. :)