Concrete Stem Wall Foundation - Construction - Benefits - Drawbacks - Stem wall vs Slab-at-grade

Stem walls on concrete foundations are popular and make up the spinal cord of one of the five common and basic types of construction footings. Today in this video we’re going to talk about the entire mechanism behind how such small walls manage to hold up large structures. Hold on! If you’re new to my channel and want such informative videos, do press the subscribe button and hit the bell icon to enjoy latest construction and DIY videos. So, let’s get started to our today’s topic. Our first main question is what is a Stem Wall or what is stem wall foundation? Well, it’s a kind of like type of footing that is typical used in replace to slab at grade or like a crawlspace. Here in this foundation, a stem wall is acts like a short supporting wall that forms a connection between the foundation of a structure and the vertical, load-bearing walls of the superstructure that sits atop of the ground. These walls help in transferring the load of the superstructure to the footing, which then distributes the loads over the area of the foundation. ================ Applications ================ Let’s now see why we prefer stem wall foundation or – its applications. Stem walls are usually constructed with houses that have crawl spaces and are widely popular in areas such as California, Northwestern areas, Texas, and areas to the south of USA. They are also a common preference of the designers and engineers when designing structures in an earthquake prone area. Houses with full basements, such as the ones popular in mid-Atlantic, Northeast and the Midwest, or structures build in coastal areas or such structures that are build on piers and piles to raise them above flood levels should avoid the usage of stem walls.