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Tech Notes: Backfi Lling Foundation Walls

The document discusses recommendations for properly backfilling foundation walls. It states that foundation walls must be supported at the top and bottom before backfilling according to building codes. Temporary bracing or a properly constructed deck is needed at the top, and connections like keyways or dowels are required at the bottom. The document provides guidance on methods to safely backfill walls, such as limiting initial fill heights and using offsets, and recommends compacting fill in lifts with light equipment rather than heavy machines.

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130 views

Tech Notes: Backfi Lling Foundation Walls

The document discusses recommendations for properly backfilling foundation walls. It states that foundation walls must be supported at the top and bottom before backfilling according to building codes. Temporary bracing or a properly constructed deck is needed at the top, and connections like keyways or dowels are required at the bottom. The document provides guidance on methods to safely backfill walls, such as limiting initial fill heights and using offsets, and recommends compacting fill in lifts with light equipment rather than heavy machines.

Uploaded by

evens
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CFA-TN-002 BACKFILLING FOUNDATION WALLS

TECH NOTES
Backfilling
Foundation
Walls

A product of

Concrete Foundations Association


of North America
CFA-TN-002 BACKFILLING FOUNDATION WALLS

TECH NOTES
Backfilling Foundation Walls
Recommendations and code requirements regarding backfill of newly poured NOTES:
basements are one of the most ignored aspects of foundation construction.
1: This plate-to-deck connection is
The International Residential Code, American Concrete Institute (ACI) 332
the weakest part of the foundation
Standard and the CFA Standard all state that foundation walls must be
assembly. Fig 1a below is enlarged
supported at the top and bottom before backfill is placed. Empirical tables
from circled area of Fig. 1.
presented in each are based on that premise.

The 2006 IRC States:

R404.1.7 Backfill placement. Backfill shall not be placed against the wall
until the wall has sufficient strength and has been anchored to the floor
above, or has been sufficiently braced to prevent damage by the backfill.

Exception: Bracing is not required for walls supporting less than 4 feet of
unbalanced backfill.

A foundation wall is designed as a simply supported beam with restraint at


the top and bottom (Fig 1). If there is no support at the top, the wall becomes
a cantilevered element
requiring a significantly
different design, as 1a
well as reinforcement
requirements for both the Fig 1a
wall and footing.

The reality, however,


is that most walls are
backfilled without the
stipulated support. The
fact that the walls are
much stronger than
they need to be to resist
designed lateral loads
helps keep problems
to a minimum but in
many cases, backfilling
without sufficient support
is a problem waiting to
happen.
Fig 1: Typical simply-
supported foundation wall

A product of

Concrete Foundations Association


of North America
CFA-TN-002 BACKFILLING FOUNDATION WALLS

This means that either temporary bracing or a properly constructed and NOTES:
connected deck (Fig 2) must be present at the top of the wall and either a
keyway (Fig 3) or dowels (Fig 4) are in-place at the bottom of the wall.

Fig 2
Fig 2, right: Typical completed deck connection

Fig 3, below left: Typical keyway footing


connection

Fig 4, below right: Typical rebar dowel footing


connection

Fig 4

Fig 3

There are several methods that foundation contractors can use to reduce
the likelihood of a problem. First, keep the height of the backfill to no more
than 4’ except at the corners or offsets until the deck is in place. Four feet of
unbalanced backfill will usually not exert sufficient pressure to damage the
wall.

Fig 5: Common
allowable areas for
full-height backfill

You can generally backfill to full height at corners and offsets. A wall
extending at right angles to the backfilling is the best support you can have for
a wall. In most cased you can backfill short segments of walls (up to 12’ in
length) full height. When you have closely spaced supports at right angles to
the wall (such as corners or offsets) the wall actually can span horizontally as
well as vertically. This recommendation should be used with caution unless an
engineer has given specific design requirements for the method. (Fig 5)

Closely related to offsets is the use of counterforts (Fig 6)—thickened areas of


walls or buttress walls—that, in effect, act the same way as offsets or corners. continued on back
CFA-TN-002 BACKFILLING FOUNDATION WALLS

These can be on either the inside or outside of the wall and should be cast NOTES:
integrally with the wall. This concept is similar to the use of piers in masonry
construction.

Fig 6: A counterfort monolithic


with the foundation wall will
support longer wall lengths like
an offset or corner

The type and consistency of soils greatly impacts the design lateral load on
foundations. Consequently, the backfill condition should be considered during
the design of the foundation wall. If the original soil excavated from the over
dig is to be used, the wall must be designed for the resulting soil pressures.
The pressure on a foundation can be reduced if well-draining soils or granular
fills replace the excavated native soils.

When it is time to backfill, the


process used is as important or
perhaps even more important
than the material. It is not
acceptable to compact the soils
by driving heavy equipment next
to the walls - the force exerted
will exceed even the largest of
assumed soil pressures. Neither
is it suitable to saturate the fill
with a garden hose to accelerate
the settlement. If the soil used
for the excavation is not well-
drained, the excess water
may cause a wall failure. The
recommended backfill procedure
involves light equipment, Fig 7: Backfill in tamped lifts
preferably a tamper. The fill is and finish with proper slope
set into the hole in two-foot lifts
(Fig 7) and then compacted prior to the next layer. This process achieves full
height compaction rather than a surface compaction that will maintain the final
grade.

Finally, always leave the final grade with a positive slope away from the
foundation. The top of grade must not be higher than 4-in. from the top of a
foundation wall with masonry veneer or 6-in. in all other cases. The grade
must then slope away (positive) from the foundation a minimum of six inches
(6-in.) in the first ten feet (10-ft.). The greater the positive slope, the better
maintenance of slope considering settlement.

Treating the foundation properly during the initial stages of construction, will
pay dividends for the life of the house. For more information on residential
foundations, visit the Concrete Foundations Association web site at www.
cfawalls.org.

Concrete Foundations Association


of North America
www.cfawalls.org PO Box 204, Mount Vernon, IA 52314
Phone 319-895-6940 Fax: 320-213-5556 Toll Free 866-232-9255

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