Foundation Walls and Basements of Concrete is an illustrated construction booklet issued by the Portland Cement Association. This printing is identified by an 11-25 production code on the final page, indicating 1925. It discusses concrete foundations for houses and farm buildings, with photographs, working sketches, example calculations and tables for estimating materials.
Foundations as part of the whole building
The opening pages explain the intended advantages of a durable foundation and show examples beneath farm structures and houses. The booklet distinguishes solid concrete walls cast in place from walls built of concrete blocks. It considers both as ways of providing a continuous base for the building above.
The treatment is practical and promotional, reflecting the association’s purpose of encouraging the use of concrete. Readers should recognize that setting when interpreting its broad claims about permanence and economy. The useful content lies in the construction details and the sequence of questions the booklet asks the builder to consider.
For a self-sufficiency reference collection, the publication helps connect a finished structure with work that is often hidden after completion. Soil, footing, wall, floor and the framing above all meet at the foundation, so the subject cannot be reduced to pouring material into a trench.
Footings, loads and soil
The design discussion relates the footing to the weight carried and the supporting ground. A worked example uses a small building plan and section to explain the calculation of loads and footing width. The pages distinguish live loads from dead loads and show why the load on a wall must be related to the area over which it reaches the soil.
Further pages give suggested dimensions for small buildings and discuss the relationship between wall thickness, footing and the structure above. These figures document 1920s practice; they should not be adopted as current design values. Actual foundations require present-day assessment of soil, loads, groundwater, frost and applicable requirements.
The diagrams are useful even when read historically. They clarify how a wider footing spreads a load and how different parts of a building require support in different places. That relationship is easier to understand when a plan, section and calculation are studied together.
Forms and placing concrete
Earth forms and wood forms are treated separately. The wooden-form discussion concerns the surfaces that shape the concrete, the supports that hold them and the ties or spacers that maintain the intended wall thickness. Photographs show forms in place for foundation walls and footings.
The booklet also discusses mixtures, placing and work in freezing conditions. Its sequence links preparation with the condition of the finished wall. A foundation is affected by how forms are supported and how concrete is handled, not only by its nominal ingredients.
Retaining walls and reinforcement receive attention where foundations encounter additional pressures or unusual conditions. The text itself recognizes the need for experienced engineering in more demanding circumstances. That distinction is important when separating a small illustrative example from an actual site-specific design.
Basements, floors and protection from moisture
Concrete-block basement walls introduce masonry joints and the treatment of surfaces. A section on watertight basements discusses the junction of wall and floor, drainage and coatings. Drawings show details intended to prevent water from finding a path through vulnerable connections.
Basement floors, concrete piers and posts broaden the treatment beyond perimeter walls. Examples include supports for light buildings and foundations for stationary machinery. These pages show how the same material was adapted to different tasks around a farm or home.
Laying out the foundation is explained with lines, stakes and batter boards. This is a useful connection to carpentry: accurate formwork and building lines depend on establishing reliable references before excavation and concrete work proceed.
Estimating and the intended reader
The final reference tables give quantities of cement and aggregates for stated volumes, areas and thicknesses. Worked problems demonstrate using the tables to estimate a foundation wall, its footing and a plaster coat. They preserve the estimating conventions of the period rather than present a current purchasing schedule.
This free ebook suits architectural historians, farm-building researchers and readers learning the vocabulary of foundation work. Its compact illustrations make it approachable, but it remains historical guidance. Modern structural, waterproofing and construction decisions require current standards and qualified judgment. The twenty digital pages include the cover and final publisher page; searchable text assists navigation alongside the original diagrams.
Book details
- Author: Portland Cement Association
- Publisher: Portland Cement Association
- Year: 1925
- Edition: 1925 printing, indicated by the 11-25 production code
- Digital length: 20 PDF pages
- Language: English
- File size: 3.69 MB
