Foundations

Build this simple foundation with basic tools and ingredients by Rick Arnold

Ensure a square, level building project from the get-go by Jim Blodgett

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

One builder's plan yields Vermont's most energy-efficient house by Al Rossetto

by John Spier

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

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

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

by Fred Lugano

Assembled with regular building skills, ICFs form airtight, insulating concrete walls that finish with standard materials by 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

Steel bracing and improved drainage give new life to cracked and wet walls by Donald V. Cohen