single-story-house-plan
pouring foundations

To pour foundations to your single-story-house-plan, you need window bucks and window wells. The foundations are poured before the flatwork is done. But even before the flatwork is done, the sub rough plumbing must be done.

If you have a good cement contractor, he knows that they can pour the cement the same day as the foundation set-up . So, after the footings are poured, the contractor knows he can put up the cement forms for foundation and then pour the foundation walls all in the same day. The footings forms can be removed the same day, too.

Remember, you are going to want your city inspector to inspect your footings and foundation forms before you pour because the inspector knows how to pour cement. He will make sure that your foundations are done right.

Our city required that the city inspector come for inspection before the footings were poured. He made sure there was adequate reinforcing rod. Then before the foundations were poured he came again. SEE Inspections

The city said they needed 24 hour notice for the inspector to come, so if it had been left up to me, the laying of forms and pouring would have taken 2 or 3 days. The forms would have been put up, and then I'd have called the city requesting an inspection. Then in 24 hours the inspector would have come. Then I'd have ordered the cement.. It would have been days just for the footings, and more days for the foundation. I did not know how-to-pour-cement.

However, my concrete subs knew that wasn't necessary and they were used to laying their forms and pouring in the same day.

The concrete sub called the city inspector the morning they were putting up their forms, telling the inspector when they would be finished. Our inspector showed up within the hour and inspected so the cement pouring could be done the same day.

Both the footings and foundations were completed on our single-story-house-plan basement, the same way just a few days apart because it was over the week-end.

They waited till the next morning to strip the forms off in both instances.

Sub rough plumbing is installed before flatwork

The flatwork will be done for your single-story-house-plan by another contractor, after the sub-rough plumbing has been put in place. You can see the sub-rough plumbing pipes coming out of the floor.

The types of forms needed for concrete are different for each application, and so concrete subs specialize just like doctors do ie:

Footings & foundations cement contractor
Flatwork cement contractor

Be sure to observe your concrete contractors' crew at work. Gain a feeling of confidence in them as they work.

Be certain that they are using horizontal and vertical reinforcing rod in the footings and foundation. The verticals are inserted into the cement foundation after the cement is poured. These keep the house from being pushed off of the foundations. You can see them in some of the above pictures.

After the footings & foundations are in place, the sub-rough plumbing must be done before the flatwork is begun.

SEE...sub-rough plumbing

Once the sub-rough plumbing is installed in your single-story-house-plan, your excavator can put in 8 to 12 inches of gravel. Your excavator will determine the depth of the gravel unless you specify. Be sure to include this task into your excavator's contract. See “Signing Contracts” with your subs HERE

It was interesting how the excavator moved the gravel around. He lowered his skidster down into the basement with the big bucket of the track hoe and then moved the gravel around.

To locate concrete subs, you can look in the yellow pages under Concrete Construction, or Concrete Contractors.