Q&A for How to Build a Concrete Foundation

It depends on how high you want to make the wall. For instance, if I need a two foot brick wall, I will pour a solid eight inch foundation. The foundation would be eight inches of pure concrete, and I would also put in rebars facing upwards in the concrete, and then I'll place the cinder blocks. After the cinder blocks and the foundation are ready, I can start laying in the bricks.

The paste, composed of portland cement and water, coats the surface of the fine (small) and coarse (larger) aggregates. Through a chemical reaction called hydration, the paste hardens and gains strength to form the rock-like mass known as concrete.

First find what's wrong with the foundation. For example, if it is a damaged block, you need to remove the block and measure the length of the gap or missing block. Mix up molder and replace the new block, making sure it rests evenly.

12 mm is actually quite a bit less than one foot. In fact, it's somewhere around 0.039 feet.

Depending on the concrete grade, 270 mm thick is suitable if it is 25 megapascal.

Concrete will always crack, there is no way to avoid it entirely, but keep standing water and erosive materials off of the slab.

You should never build or lay concrete on any soil. Soil is a living material, with living microbes constantly living and dying, and thus creating gases and chemicals that will eventually blow and crack your concrete slab or raft. Always remove all soil down to a hard inert surface, such as firm dry clay or rock.

It depends on what you are constructing. If you are constructing a slab, the minimum thickness of concrete slab is 100 mm but the preferred thickness is 150 mm. The thickness (dimensions) of reinforced concrete columns and beams varies as it depends upon the load a building is designed to carry. The Plain Cement Concrete laid before laying the foundation is usually 75 mm.

These concrete caps are to allow surplus water to drain out of the concrete and stop damp from entering the wall. They are made so that the excess water will permeate the cap or tube, and then take the easiest route out to the outside air.