[Greenbuilding] Reducing concrete in foundations

Sat Mar 31 07:01:25 CDT 2007

I used the Superior Walls system on our own home and will be spec'ing/using 
them from here on out, whether it be a full basement or 4' crawl space 
foundation. They outshine either CMU or poured concrete foundations in every 
area IMHO. A SW engineer and I estimated a 70% reduction of concrete in 
their system vs. a comparable poured in place wall.

And BTW Linda, a very reputable SW company did not require a site inspection 
before installation, I E-mailed photos with surveyor staubs in place.

Ron Cascio
Chestnut Creek
Design/Build/Consult/Develop
Maryland's Eastern Shore

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Linda Lloyd" <greenshelter at madriver.com>
To: <greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 31, 2007 7:45 AM
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Reducing concrete in foundations

>I responded individually to the original poster - have used Superior Walls
> in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Vermont on various projects, most as the 
> first
> floor walls for a slab on grade house - have also seen MANY other
> installations, when appraising houses around Harrisburg PA some 10 years 
> ago
> almost 80% of the builders used them - tthe separation you described can
> only be attributed to improper prep or installation - rubble trench
> foundations, which is what this is based on have been used for many many
> many years - they save about 60% of poured concrete costs when insulation
> etc etc is taken into account (and use less concrete)
> a one story Superior Walls house can have walls and roof trusses done the
> same day and be under roof - contrary to the Fine Homebuilding article 
> this
> month, you can NOT usually dig and prep the site and get the walls the 
> next
> day as all reputable Superior Walls companies will require that they 
> inspect
> the readied site before they put the walls into production
> Linda Lloyd
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Thomas Lewis" <plea_4peace at yahoo.com>
> To: "JAY WALSH" <jaywalsh at usa.net>; <greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2007 7:20 PM
> Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Reducing concrete in foundations
>
>
>> I'm a bit surprised this question hasn't sparked
>> comments from some of the regulars.
>>
>> I guess that reflects the apprehension I have observed
>> on the few projects I've been on where Superior walls
>> were involved.  Apprehension derived from, I believe,
>> the lack of traditional footings, replaced by a
>> compacted gravel bed.
>>
>> On one such project the wall system was lovingly
>> termed 'inferior walls'.  The wall sections separated
>> in places creating ~1/4 inch spaces inbetween the
>> walls.  What caused this I can only speculate. I
>> wasn't around for their installation.  Maybe they
>> weren't secured properly, maybe the gravel 'footings'
>> settled.
>>
>> I know one person who built with them ~10 years ago
>> and the house is perfectly fine.
>>
>> In my most recent experience with them, I was building
>> on them for a few months, without any trouble and
>> without observing any settleing.
>>
>> So you know I am no architect or engineer.  But based
>> on my experience I would build my own house with them,
>> I would do my best to drain water away (as you should
>> with any foundation) and I would tamp the hell out of
>> the gravel bed.
>>
>> Tom Lewis
>>
>> If I may ask, where is the home you were inspecting?
>>
>>
>> --- JAY WALSH <jaywalsh at usa.net> wrote:
>>
>> >
>> > Recently while inspecting a new home enrolled in the
>> > Energy Star program here
>> > in the Northeast, I found they started using the
>> > Superior Wall precast
>> > concrete system for their foundations. I am
>> > interested in any comments by
>> > those in the greenbuilding group who have experience
>> > (good or bad) with this
>> > wall system.
>> > My interest is if this system performs well we would
>> > promote its use in our
>> > Green Building program. I like the fact that it
>> > comes pre insulated (R5 and
>> > R10)with space for additional insulation, but more
>> > importantly because of the
>> > wall design it would reduce the volume of concrete
>> > in the foundation wall by
>> > some 75% (my estimate).  Looking forward to your
>> > feedback.
>> >
>> > Jay Walsh
>> > Center for Ecological Technology
>> > Energy Analyst, Energy Star and LEED-H Rater
>> >
>> >
>> >
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>>
>>
>> "Time makes more converts than reason."  Thomas Paine, Common Sense
>>
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