Foundation Work

A simple wheelbarrow, a stiff rake, and a reliable process transform the task of mixing concrete from backbreaker to no-brainerby Scott Grice

by Larry Haun

by Paul Fisette

Thanks to interlocking foam forms, you can form, pour, and insulate any small foundation in a single dayby Rick Arnold

For small projects, you can save time and money if you form and pour everything at onceby Jim Blodgett

by John La Torre Jr.

Layout is critical when the pipes are cast in stoneby David Crosby

Carpenter Joseph Truini offers construction details for four types of basic, on-grade foundations suitable for backyard buildingsby Joseph Truini

An architect adds a new first floor under his house to gain space and better views of Puget Soundby Frank Karreman

by John Spier

Grafting the right foundation onto a house that's neither square nor levelby Rick Arnold

The bones beneath concrete's muscle, rebar has to be cut, bent and tied properly to do its jobby Howard Stein

Dry-laid walls reinforced with steel and filled with concrete make a weathertight, bugproof houseby Fred Leadbeater

by Fred Lugano

Available as single-shot, semiautomatic or full automatic, these low-velocity tools are the ones carpenters choose when driving fasteners into concrete or steelby Bruce Greenlaw

Assembled with regular building skills, ICFs form airtight, insulating concrete walls that finish with standard materialsby Andy Engel

They hold up the house, hold back the earth and keep out the water. If they're not level and square, you may end up custom-cutting every rafter.by Rick Arnold, Mike Guertin

Fill up a trench with concrete -- what's to know? If a house is going to stand on those little sidewalks, they'd better be straight, level and correctly placed.by Rick Arnold, Mike Guertin

by Thor Matteson