Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Nov 09, 1999 06:21pm | #1

   *
   Around here, what you are describing is a "jump" and it used to plague the hell out me. We used to leave rebar across the transition. and step the forms up. If its all being done in one pour, that's about the only way I know.

   If you are going to make two pours, have them leave some rebar "L's" at the juncture so when the forms are stripped they can bend them down into the new wall. Or you can drill in some rebar dowels into the green concrete for the same tie.

   The real trick is supporting the jump over the disturbed earth. You could backfill with gravel, and compact in lifts, but it is hard to maintain the compaction you need without being disappointed.
   We dry stack 8" block from the footing or base of the high wall to the elevation of the trench for the low wall . This bridges the "jump", provides abbsolute bearing surface to the same compaction as the high wall and it usually doesn't cost anymore than say $50 a jump for materials, figuring a three foot jump (8' wall to 5' wall) is going to be about 5 blocks high, the trench is about 3' wide and you lay the blocks dry, two wide, so say 50 blocks each jump.
   Try it, you'll like it.

1. 
   Guest_ | Nov 13, 1999 04:26pm | #2

   *Thanks Mike, Actually I am going to do just about what you say except that I am going to use the poured foundation walls as one big step. I have left the footer short with rebar sticking out and when I poor my basement walls I will put in a T and a 2 foot section that will take me to the bank and the crawl space and finsih the footer all at once. thanks for the help