Site Work and Foundations

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

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

Used overseas successfully for decades, this innovative foundation system uses carefully placed insulation and a slab with integral footings instead of conventional deep frost walls by Christopher R. Kendall

by Robert L. Brungraber

Tips on ordering, placing, screeding, floating and finishing by Carl Hagstrom

These time-saving tips make short work of setting sills, posts and girders by Larry Haun

Using driven piles and grade beams to build on soft ground by Alvin M. Sacks

Building forms stick by stick can save on labor and materials by Arne Waldstein

Proper drainage (lots of gravel) is the key by George Nash

A simple, effective foundation system for residential structures by Elias Velonis