Embarking on the thrilling path of home ownership or a renovation project can introduce you to a sea of technical jargon. If you've ever wondered about the undercarriage of your home or been curious about terms like Stem Walls, Subgrade, or Slab-on-Grade, you're not alone. Residential foundations, while often out of sight, play a monumental role in ensuring the durability and longevity of our homes.

In our latest video guide, we take you on a visual journey, demystifying the intricate elements that lay the groundwork for a Single-Family Home and Two-Family Duplex. Discover what exactly goes into creating a robust base for a structure and why elements like the Foundation Drain or the importance of proper Backfill cannot be overlooked.

Beyond just the basics, our video offers insights into various foundation types—like Crawlspace and Basement—and highlights the science behind components like Fly Ash, Slag, and Admixtures in a concrete mix. Curious about the difference between Rebar and Dowels, or why control joints are needed in a concrete slab? We've got it all covered.

Accompanied by engaging visuals and easy-to-understand explanations, our guide is designed for both novices and those looking to brush up on their foundational knowledge. If you're eager to understand the literal foundation of your home or simply harbor a passion for construction intricacies, this video is a must-watch.

Join us on this educational journey and empower yourself with the knowledge to make informed decisions about your home's base and, by extension, its overall well-being. Remember, a solid foundation today ensures a secure home tomorrow. Dive in now!

Terms & Definitions used in the video:

• Single-Family Home - A normal house. A house that one family lives in, not attached to other residences.

• Two-Family Home - A duplex. A house that two families live in. Usually two mirrored houses connected together.

• Multi-Family Home - An apartment or town-home. A series of housing units that connected together.

• Foundation - The structure between the ground and the house that supports the wood framing of the home. Usually made from cast-in-place concrete or CMU.

• Cast-in-Place Concrete - Concrete that is poured on site.

• Precast Concrete - Concrete that is poured offsite and transported to the site after hardening.

• CMU - Concrete Masonry Unit. Modular concrete building block. "Cinder Block".

• Crawlspace - Non-livable gap under the home. Unfinished space. Used to run mechanical, electrical, and plumbing lines.

• Basement - Extension of the living space under the home. Similar to a crawlspace except it is taller and typically finished and conditioned.

• Slab-on-Grade - A concrete slab that is poured and supported by the ground.

• Footings - Sturdy pads or strips of concrete that spread out loads from the structure above to the soil beneath.

• Stem Walls - Concrete or masonry walls that are supported by the footings that typically support the perimeter of the home.

• Piers - Isolated concrete or masonry columns that are spaced out within a crawlspace to support the floor framing above.

• Shims - Small pieces of wood, steel, or composite material that fill the gap between piers and girder pockets and the girders of the floor framing.

• Girders - Floor framing beams that support the floor joists. They span between the piers or girder pockets.

• Girder Pockets - Pockets formed into the stem walls that support the girders.

• Grade - The ground elevation outside of the home. Also called finished grade.

• Subgrade - The ground beneath the foundation.

• Rebar - Steel reinforcing bars that give the concrete added strength, especially for resisting tension forces.

• Dowels - Pieces of rebar typically used to connect two sections of concrete, like the footings and stem walls. Usually bent into an "L" shape.

• Mortar - The "glue" that goes between CMU blocks that bonds the individual units together to create a wall or column.

• Grout - The concrete-like material used to fill the hollow cells in CMU. Used to strengthen the masonry assembly and bond rebar to the CMU blocks.

• Slump - How much a specific concrete mix spreads out when placed in a pile. Describes the viscosity of the mix.

• Aggregate - The gravel and sand in a concrete mix. Gravel is coarse aggregate and sand is fine aggregate.

• Cement - Fine powder in a concrete mix that has a chemical reaction with the water to cause the mix to harden.

• Fly Ash - A cement alternative. A by-product of coal-fired power plants.

• Slag - A cement alternative. A by-product of steel mills.

• Silica Fume - A cement alternative. A by-product of material processing and refinement.

• Admixtures - Chemicals added to a concrete mix that modify its properties.

• Compression - The term for a pushing force on an object.

• Tension - The term for a pulling force on an object.

• Foundation Drain - Drain system at the base of a stem or basement wall around the perimeter of the wall. Drains ground water away from the foundation. Sometimes called a French Drain.

• Backfill - The soil or gravel that fills the remainder of the hole excavated for a foundation after the foundation is in place.

• Compaction - Pressing down on the soil with heavy weight or vibrations to remove air pockets in the soil or gravel. Optimal compaction reduces settlement potential.

• Settlement - When a foundation or other structure sinks into the ground due to weak or overloaded soil. Poorly compacted soil increases settlement potential.

• Walk-Out Basement - A basement that has one or more sides open (not backfilled). Typically when basements are constructed on a hillside.

• Turndown Slab Edge - The thickened edge of a slab-on-grade around the perimeter. Gives the slab edge increased strength. May or may not be supported by a footing.

• Thickened Slab - A thickened interior section of slab-on-grade. Acts like a footing to support load-bearing walls or columns.

• WWR - Welded Wire Reinforcement. The modern term used to describe typical slab reinforcement. Thin wires (typically smooth) in several perpendicular rows, welded together into a sheet.

• WWF - Welded Wire Fabric. An old term that has been replaced by WWR.

• WWM - Welded Wire Mesh. An old term that has been replaced by WWR.

• Control Joints - Joints that are cut or formed into a slab-on-grade to intentionally weaken the slab at specific locations to control shrinkage cracking.

• Frost Depth - The depth at which the soil freezes and experiences frost heave. Varies greatly by geographic location.

• Sill Anchors - Also called anchor rods. Installed into the concrete to connect the sill plate to the foundation.

• Post-Installed - Used to describe something installed in the concrete after it has hardened. Like an expansion bolt or screw-type concrete anchor.

• Anchor Rods - Another term for sill anchors. May also describe anchors in the concrete for a column or a shear wall.

• Embedded Straps - Steel straps cast into the concrete. Used for connecting the wood framing to the foundation, especially at shear walls.

• Sill Sealer - A roll of foam material that is installed under the sill plate to help isolate it from the concrete or masonry.

• Sill Plate - A continuous wood band installed flat on top of the foundation to act as the interface between the foundation and framing. Usually pressure-treated for protection against deterioration due to moisture.

• Pressure-Treated - A process where a wood member is treated with a chemical that gives the wood increased deterioration resistance due to moisture.