First Concrete Pour: Form-A-Drain 4-in-1 Foundation Footings 

That statement rings so true, the guys i can afford I know personally and in 80% of jobs I have to be there to ensure that I can pay them agreed upon rate, it's hard being the boss when not home lol, and i guess i know how to word things because the relationships are still intact, tact is key, teamwork, understanding and common sense somehow solutions materialize

welcome to my world contractor in colorado

Lol im planning to build a house in MD which is far from my home and i have learned after 25 years in the business Trust No one, But rely on the knowledge of as man pros possible when their past results show they know more than you do about it then you do.

Sounds like my brother...however, the great cobbler is always making shoes for others before starting on their own. Best wishes in your endeavors.

Well said! Man well said..

Thanks Kevin!

Everything dies eventually

Haha, thx. They’re Atlas 46. Love them.

form a drain lmfao

I ran into the thought that the only thing stoping lateral movement is the soil. Thus, I put sheet piles around perimeter as a precaution. On my similar project . Foundations are tricky.

By erosion ,you mean water getting between stones and soil?

What an awesome comment, thanks brother! Keep them coming, and I promise we’ll keep the videos coming too.

Thanks

Took the words out of my mouth. He's dealing with a contractor that is playing it down to some extent. In hindsight after the pour began, the contractor knows damn well he should have formed the form-a-drains with wood for bowing strength. Prob his first time. How exciting.

Sloppy till its buried. Wider the footer the better. Why does everything gotta be straight push materials to there limits take risks put curves in your work.

Why are so many of us acting like construction is an exact science? It’s messy. Weather happens. Rocks and dirt shift. When you get a structural engineer to specify your project, they overdo things to allow for little stuff like that.

31 years in the field, the easiest thing to do is cut horse shoes out of plywood and slip over the forms to hold against spreading. Then the stakes will easily do their job holding the forms to a line. Slow that pump truck down and get the tube closer to the ground so it’s not throwing the mud in at a high rate will help also

@@timothykuharich9967 Yeah the plywood horseshoes are the cats ass at holding forms in place, and yes nobody else caught the fact that pumping concrete to fast, will wreck forming faster then anything else!! Also holding the hose nozzle too high will also contribute to form damage.

@@timothykuharich9967 nailed it. We use custom steel brackets That rundown the sides as well as a inside piece that goes down an inch just to hold them in place. During the pour we lift them up that 1inch so they are out of the concrete and you can trowel. For any rebar you can use wire to hang the bar. Before lifting the brackets you just untwist the wire and pull it out. It saves so much time and effort and does the best job in my opinion. But for his one time pour the plywood bracket is a great idea. As soon as I saw zero crossers i knew that it was going to bowout alot lol

Great comment, thanks!

Me too I guess

Well, apparently you're a photographer so why would you be involved in this project. I applaud the homeowner for being so thorough and making sure the sub-contractors are doing their jobs correctly. Sure, it might be a pain for them to have the h/o looking over their shoulder all the time but in the end it's the h/o's money and he has the final say.

Relax, AC, Jonathan is responding to the deep current of old-dog contractor attitude on this comment thread. You’re both right.

dirkhans001 I just wonder how many different contractors will have been a part of his learning curve by the time the house is done.

@@dirkhans001 yeah because they will find out you are full of shit. Your time saving will cost the homeowner more money and time . Hes just a homeowner though right?

The video right before this one is all about the geotechnical engineer’s tests

Hey, thanks Jay! Good to know there are experience guys out there who don’t think I should be put in prison

Slump test has no importance for a foundation work( and for a lot of other work) you just know the consistance of your concrete and then his workability nothing else , ratio water/ciment is more important, using a retarder has no (bad) influence on the quality unless it s a proper retarder ( and not glucose water mix made on site for example ), you have 90 min to pour your concrete since it s put in the mixer, if you use retardant this time increase, using a retader rise up the mechanical performance of your concrete , see sika files if you don t believe it

People that actually do Concrete work can judge slump by eye. The QC guy isn’t going to show up for your residential 30 cy footing pour. You can pay a testing company, or buy a slump cone and learn how to use it while you have a truck sitting there. It’s all about water.... order 4000, don’t exceed specified water, it will break greater than 4000.

ArthurDentZaphodBeeb I get that. Good points. I have a bachelor of science in Concrete industry Management and own a commercial/ industrial concrete contracting business. All that I’m saying is in residential footings it really doesn’t matter. A 4000 psi mix breaks higher than 4000 psi. You can add water within reason for workability. If you want it to flow like water order SCC for an extra $50 / cy

john williams the last time I ordered 10 yards of 5000 psi scc for a beam enlargement it was $180 / yard. I don’t know what it cost for lower strength high quantity. I do 1 off design build projects

@@johnhoward4977 Residential footing's don't matter ? Add water to make it flow ? That is some very bad advice. The footing's are the most important part in any structure regardless of it's use. Adding water to concrete weakens it. Different soil conditions as well as regions ( snowy, rainy,etc ) will dictate the strength and type of concrete used. I have built the exact same house plan in Detroit and New Orleans and the concrete is completely different as well as the way the footing is constructed. The footing I build in Detroit would most likely sink in New Orleans. Always have your plans reviewed by a local engineer and or architect. I use ICF's for my footings and walls. ICF's work best in conjunction with a pea stone mix rated at 4,000psi or higher. Pea stone mix flows smoother so it is easier to vibrate and thereby reduces the chances of having a void in your finished product. Suppliers hate pea mix as most people will not pay the higher price. Also if something goes wrong ( fails slump test ) they can't pawn it off on the guy down the street. So it gets dumped at a loss. This is why you have to test your load. If it fails the test over at Joe's site they will bring it to your site and hope you don't notice. Just about every job I do the suppliers bring me a truck of regular low strength which gets rejected. I do mono pours which means I pour the footing and the walls at the same time. The slump and mix are critical to making sure their are no voids. I will not scrimp or cut corners on concrete. Do your research on products so you can make educated decisions. Do not let your contractor's make your choices for you or worse yet ignore your decisions and do it their way. This is your home. This is most likely the most expensive thing you have ever purchased. You do not want to move in to your new home thinking if only I would have done this or if only I had used this material or I wish I would have..... You are the one who has to live there. Also remember that you are working for the most important customer you will ever have. A customer who knows where you live, knows where you sleep and has powers of persuasion that you simply are no match for. A customer that you want to please so badly that selling your 67 mustang to buy new curtains almost sounds like a good idea. I said almost. Keep posting videos of your progress and keep asking questions. I don't know you personally but I want you to build a house so nice that you can't believe you built it. More importantly I do not want you to just build a house, I want you build a home. A house is where you live but a home is where you love. Wow sorry about the long post but I really do take this stuff seriously. I am not picking on you John. Just remember he is new to this so we need to be a bit gentle and offer good sound advice so he can succeed.

Slump test is done with wet concrete. MPA test is done after 28 days crushing a cast plug.

You are awesome. Thanks for the tips!

Now that is a good product that comes with its own braces and hangers

100% correct, I am paying for it. I never haggled with this sub, nor argued any additional charges.

they are paying to have it done the way they want it done, even if it's not the correct way. es the slump test is always on site

or in this case not right or did you miss the whole footing part?

If you leave it really rough it won't seal between them very well, it will make your wall forms uneven, and let the concrete leak out the bottom in places. Also it would make sealing the outside of the foundation difficult. I think the practice of making the keys has become unpopular. Not sure why, but perhaps because the rebar takes care of it. They are only floating it, it isn't much effort either, so why not.

I don't get how gravel helps.

More serious builders find more serious clients.

I’m with the owner on this, most builders have only one goal, make as much as they can get away with and get out. Even engineers deflect most questions as “mean and methods”. If a builder doesn’t share my goals he doesn’t deserve my money. Unfortunately only 1% are good, in my experience.

@@drchamp1902 Right, because we ONLY do it for the money. What do you do? Do you do it for charity? or do you have mouths to feed?

@@2drsdan most do, they have zero concern for the safety of occupants or quality of work. I have hired many contractors and have seen it again and again. Most collect deposits and disappear for months. Not saying you do that but most do.

True, get a deposit and disappear for months, that's the science of contracting

Thanks Joe, I’ll call the plant ahead and talk with them. There’s a communication glitch between struc eng specs in psf and slump inches, just need to bridge that gap with the right help

@@HomePerformance The mix design you are using should have a number associated with it that should be on your batch ticket. The mix design, which the batch plant should have on file, will tell you all the pertinent information such as slump and weight of the materials per cubic yard as well as any add mixtures. I have not seen anywhere on your site about the design of your house. Will you be sharing the design any time? I am really curious about what type of foundation walls you will be using. I would like to say that I admire you for taking on the challenge of being your own GC. It is not an easy job and most of the time you will get more grief than help. Wish you the best of luck on your project and don't let the haters get you down.

Thanks man- this house is pretty exhaustively outlined at: Http://homediagnosis.tv/atlanta-homestead

@@HomePerformance Ya, they just didn't want you doing the slump test because they added a bunch of water to make it flow like it is. Almost every concrete guy I know adds a lot of water because it makes it easier to work with and save them time because time is money you know.

Bingo, you hit it on the head!!!

Thanks for the reminder, T

Good advice

Thanks for the tips- and just to clarify, the stakes aren’t bowing, it’s the length of FAD between stakes that was deforming

@@HomePerformance at 13:03 it looks like there's 5 feet between stakes there in the back ground. That's way too much, in my opinion. I'm only mentioning this for people who pour a little footer (or sidewalk etc.) On there own with boards: when using 16 foot lumber I put 5 stakes per board. With 12 foot lumber i put 4. That's just a rule of thumb I like. If I were to stake something using that material, I would put stakes at least every 2 feet, and I would leave maybe 4 inches of the stake above the form so when I tied the stakes across from eachother with tie wire, I could move the wire up a little bit above the forms so the wire wouldn't interfere with placing/ leveling the concrete. For a first timer I think u did an excellent job!

Thanks for the tips brother

I hear you Kevin, thanks for sharing your advice

Thanks a lot, Chris

Rite on buddy- but don’t worry, the geofabric wrap went on over a gravel drainage bed. See the rest at: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-PZDNM9Tb6J8.html

I cant see any other result TBH. I do wonder sometimes at the depth and size of footings in the US,they nearly always seem very minimal,a 3 storey house sat on a 8 inch foundation with a couple of bits of 10mm rebar sometimes.?

@@Bobg425 Yes and he distinctly said the foundation is "resting on rock" in one place 3:24 and goes on to describe how fill was brought in for the rest, and uncompacted, hand tamped gravel on top as well. He said he wasn't interested in excavating any rock, like it was his decision, but I personally would much prefer that, than bringing in a load of fill and raising the foundation with forms above ground, which he said was all very expensive anyway.

Hence our two prior videos where an actual geotechnical engineer specifies our plan, and we spend four days compacting the soil with a trench roller.

@@HomePerformance Just watched .it And he may well be an actual geotechnical engineer but thats not how a soil compaction test is done, leaning on a spike. Tests at 1ft increments are needed, measured weight/distance of penetration number of hits. Now I am not a geotech,I employ them sometimes when I need actual numbers before pouring which is generally when I wasn't there for the original testing and I can categorically tell you that the spike in the top foot test is a waste of time,if its rained and dried the top foot may well be like concrete but a foot down like marshmellow. Normally itd be ok with a 3ft RC footing but you havent got one youve a few inch and one bit is on bedrock ie wont move a 32nd of a inch.

Right again, and again, we have a video of that test: Home Build Update: Grading Soil for Performance ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-yRlyhmlzXlU.html

Did you go get a General Contracting license in your city? Or did you need one?

I thought Englishmen were supposed to be charming

Entirely possible, whether intentional or inadvertent

I have used a Schmidt Hammer before. It is important to read the instructions on your model. They usually advise testing concrete after it has cured past 7-days. Yes slump tests can show that adequate and not excess water is used in the mix design. If any admixture is used like a plasticizer or a super plasticizer though that would affect the slump. [They're usually not used for foundations, but more when rebar is more intricate or complicated.] Very commonly with pours, the pourer also casts testing cubes during the pour, which they or the h/o can perform a laboratory test for called "compressive strength" - as an assurance the customer gets the concrete strength paid for, and these testing cubes are either part or not part of the pourer's liability, but at least it gives an idea to the h/o and gives some hold of the pourer to their word.

That’s weird- I love it

So glad to have helped you in any way, my friend. Thanks for following.

Interestingly, the Struc engineer spec’d clean concrete, actually, so the rebar is just an extra measure

Yes, shes a civil engineer in the making

Haha I’d love to

You are absolutely correct about the slump test being done on site. I work for a cement manufacture as a chemist and I test everything before it goes out the door. Routinely we receive samples back from customers saying the field slump was bad. 99 percent of the time it is due to the accelerators they add to their mix. As for the air-entertainment there should be close to none 8 percent give or take to be exact for a foundation pour II-MT mix.

Air entrainment is not a test, it's a procedure.

@@vdpeer Yes, and there is a test for air entrainment %.

OK YOU CAN JUST FAST FORWARD TO THE END ANGRY MAN

Thanks, brother

Thanks brother!

That’s not how I meant it. I meant that when you have an idea for something non-traditional, you might have to persist alone in pushing for it, since your team will likely push back at least a little. Learned on my first build that even as sure as I am of building science, I started to doubt everything if I was the only one

@@HomePerformance There is a lot of pushback to new ideas because among other things, insurance is expensive, and professionals are just trying to cover their ass. So yes, trying something knew that you believe the science behind is risky and takes confidence. Small unforseen variables can cause cascading problems, often in ways that can only be learned having done something before.

Well said

Haven’t heard of using it on an 8” high footing

Hey thanks Vladimir, that’s the spirit! No idea why so many contractors hate being paid more to learn new things and be better. Actually I guess it would mean that their dads were not as perfect as they thought, which might be a pretty good reason. And yes to the hardhat- I have also learned I need to close my mouth when concrete starts shooting out.

Well put, Dugnutt

@@HomePerformance 🙏

Haha- thanks T! I must have been wearing my Atlas 46 work pants, they’re my only ‘cool’ ones.

@@HomePerformance Oh awesome. Yeah those things look nice. I am tired of wearing carhartt.

Lol! I had to try to concentrate too.

I’m pretty sure it’d used up north too, but yes, it does get injured if you’re not careful. Not sure what Minnesota weather would do to your install.

Thanks for being a reasonable chap

Surface rust on the rebar is not a problem at all for footings. If heavily rusted and starts flaking than no good. I think he was cleaning the chunks of mud on the rebars which is the right think to do. Cleaning surface rust is a n insane thing to do because it will come back right away.

On the walls, yes, no need on 8” deep footing

Great minds think alike

I wholeheartedly agree.

Interesting, Roger, thx

Rusty is not an issue as concrete curing will reduce the oxide from the rust. Dirt is a problem, as it inhibits concrete bond to the rebar.

Actually ACI which is American concrete institute did tests that showed concrete bonded better to rebar that was slightly rusted than it did brand new rebar.

A true story, experienced first hand and was shocking, While building a large grocery store in Washington we had to dowel into existing concrete footings. we noticed 1 piece of rebar sticking out of the old concrete approximately 30 inches below grade. The rebar rusted and destroyed the concrete footing. we broke out the old concrete and found that the rusted rebar created a 6 to 10 inch cylindrical pocket full of orangish powder 6 ft into the huge spread footing. It was like rotten concrete. this was a 24 in. by 4 ft by 10 ft footing that was holding the steel columns for the existing covered entry. Absolutely rusting steel exposed to extremely wet weather can destroy concrete.

Well said, Heather- thanks

Working for my step installing waterproofing systems, we had the occasional customer who took time to educate themselves further, we had no problem correcting them where they were mistaken, and sometimes did it more their way to make them happier and to learn their way down the road if they still live their. CLosed the company back in '02 due to my step dads medical condition at the time and my changing life path into trucking which was my childhood dream to do for a time, his two sons also were not interested in keeping it going due to the cut rate competition.

Craig, I'm the builder and GC. Where else would I be?

he will also be living in the house so he wants it done to his specs. I did the same thing too

Thanks yo

"His way" comes from professionals he's consulted with. He stated he's not into guessing.

Yeah, she’s had a special experience with houses

@@HomePerformance she’s so lovely! I hope she’ll enjoy her new house as well as the rest of the family.

Cleaning rebar is a common practice before concrete pours. A special chemical that cleans off rust before pours can be used, and it also cleans off oils and dirt. Especially when rebar is installed days or more before the pour is made, and that time allows for the rebar to be "weathered". Steel/rebar will always try to resort to its natural state, meaning its oxide - it will rust - and when it does, it will expand. This expansion causes it to burst the concrete into which it is surrounded or embedded. Clean rebar for a proper bond, then cover it properly with concrete so it never comes into prolonged contact with air and moisture.

Ron, I think you should do some more research before you decide how much I know and where I learned it. And you might be making the same wrong assumption with orhers, letting solid clients pass you by.

I can understand where you're coming from. Because there are many people who do internet research to diagnose and treat themselves - when their situation may really warrant seeing a doctor or specialist - and may even argue with the doctor or specialist when they see one. The point is, arguing doesn't help - but there is more help than harm in doing your research in order to ask the right questions. It's your body, your life, and in this particular case, it's his building.

Right now, with the HOMEChem knowledge I have, and the fact that all building insulation foam products contain flame retardants like TRIS, I’m only using and recommending foam-free assemblies. If things change with the chemical offgassing, I will happily reconsider.

Hated the idea of burying any mechanicsl systems in concrete

Also, I need the space for ducts, equipment, etc

One year and one contractor. I'm it. Pretty sure you don't have the background on what we're doing here.

Steve you are right, he thinks only one contractor, HIMSELF!! Why, because NOBODY WOULD WORK FOR HIM!!! LOL 20+ years in the trades here!!

Stay tuned to see if we suffer, but I bet you’ll be disappointed

Mr know it all with the comebacks. You should have went to your normal job.

My normal job is inspecting and testing residential construction.

Gosh it's nice to hear from an experienced concrete pro who's not bashing everything we're doing! Thanks so much my friend.

@@HomePerformance Theres a hundred ways to do 1 thing, and everyone has a little something to share !

I hear you Zach, but we live 50 feet away in the tiny house on wheels you see in the background. For many people, this might be a safer place for children than Chicago, where we lived for 15 years and still have people asking us if we'd ever been murdered there.

@@HomePerformance Different dangers different places. Be Safe. BTW you probably could of used a power washer on your forms/rebar and then sprayed a simple asid to pre-etch the steel for adhesion. there is also plastic adhesion spray binders that would help the plastic bond too. Stay Safe.

Thx brother

Amen

Tie wire from inner peg to outer peg no bow.

You guys, settle down. I didn’t use the words ‘blown out’ or ‘huge’ in this video, because that’s not what happened. I just wanted you to know that if you stake wood all the time, then try FAD once, it will not perform the same way. There is no problem, as I already said in the vid.

If you can square the walls on the foundation you are good to go.

Very reasonable fix imho

The footer doesn't show he didn't have any blowouts a wider footer is better, honestly when it comes down to it only the top of the wall matters. Come pour concrete in Maine guy we will teach you.

Thanks Michael

Well, we used to live in Chicago, which lots of people think is a really dangerous thing to do also. Make informed choices, take calculated risks. PS- our current home is 50 feet from this site.

they were pouring concrete, not cement. but it's not uncommon to see children on site when building a family home.

Nothing wrong exposing kids to this work when properly supervised.

He did get 24 inch footers when the form a junk started to bow out when pouring it.

Thanks, but we did poured 8” walls and everything is perfect!

Keep your day job

@@johngeise1806, who are you referring too? If it's me, it is my day job. Maybe you should find a new job altogether.

Thats over kill. Minimum 22" by 6" thick is more then enough plus his is 8" with a 4ft wall ontop. Only reason to go wider would be due to the ground he is on.

Thanks for watching, Marc

THANK YOU for thinking I’m big time

Thanks for watching buddy

As an experienced and former basement waterproofing tech (mostly retrofit and some new installs), I can say not all areas of a region or nation will or do require underground/underside water drainage, can use this for an example: I am from MA, I lived in FL for a few years. In Ma and around elsewhere such as CT and RI for other examples my step dad who owned and was gc of the company runnings the day to day stuff on site and doing the estimates for new projects and taking on emergency calls which were interesting at times. In Those three states (CT/MA/RI) you will want to and do need to install said drainage systems, Not much can be done the same with sub grade systems in FL due to its elevation to the ocean surrounding it but simple systems like louvers (such as Smart Vent and Flood Vent brands) make most sense to alleviate equilibrium of water pressure differenced from the inside to the outside and to let the above grade basement if the house is built as such to drain out in the event of a hurricane flood and the owner is not home for such emergency weather condition. Also there is the sinkhole issue in FL which also negates sub grade drainage in those prone areas.

Probably. There’s always such thing as ‘good enough’, and going the extra mile sometimes doesn’t matter

This guy seems like a know-it-all dumbass. I thought it was funny that he left that large pine, so close to his foundation. Those roots are already under his house before it's even built. I'm sure they won't grow anymore...haha! Oh, and I loved that he used the weakest screws on earth (drywall) to keep the form attached to the concrete. They'll be rusted out and broke off before the roof is up! Those are just minimal things wrong. There are a lot more major issues wrong that will make him get sued when he tries to sell his house because of the crumbling foundation, that'll start at the first freeze

@@rickyfink9891 if you think that's all we're doing with the foundation, you must have missed that this is part of a SERIES. Literally none of your predictions can come true with the designs we're using.

Thanks Quentin!

Never heard of landscape staples, interesting

@@HomePerformance Better to not do that as once again you create a future path for wicking.