Raised Slab Foundation
2000 sqft new construction in southeastern NC (CZ3a). Been planning for a while and project go postponed due to life. 🙂 Hopefully back on course.
Raised slab foundation. Stem walls backfilled and slab insulated as discussed here…
https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/question/new-build-raised-slab
Is there a way to incorporate a brick face on the stem wall while keeping the same insulation idea mentioned above? Also, in my area stem walls are almost always built with CMU block and not poured.
What I mean by brick face is something like this…
https://www.finehomebuilding.com/1998/05/01/brick-faced-foundations
In regards to this idea, I’ve had a couple of different local builders tell me that they use a double bottom plate (or a mudsill AND a bottom plate as in the pic) when doing a stem wall like this. Is this typical?
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Interestingly, the other link that I had posted about a raised slab detail...
https://2x4designs.com/blogref/2016/3/7/foundations-crawlspace-vs-raised-slab
...also shows a double bottom plate. This particular link is from a design firm that is local to my area. I was able to speak to the guy created that detail and he told me that the bottom plate was necessary in this location for nailing and uplift purposes. I am in a wind zone near the coast of NC. So I suppose that makes sense.
Does anyone have any thoughts on incorporating a brick face into the stem wall while maintaining the slab insulation as discussed above? Typically in my area stem walls are built with CMU block and not poured. Is there a good way to do this?
First, there is almost always a way 'to do it'. It generally comes down to cost.
The brick in the picture you attached is load bearing. In the picture you can see that more of the wall is over the brick than is over the concrete wall so more of the wall load is carried in the brick than is carried in the concrete wall. The brick in that picture is not simply attached to concrete like a thin brick facia would be.