A type of foundation common in much of the United States, stem walls are short (up to several feet, or the height of a crawl space) and are attached to a concrete footing. The… See more

While there are variations on how stem walls are constructed, several first steps are common to all of them: 1. Clear the site. Remove any plants as well as other debris. You’ll want t… See more

Stem walls are most often built either of masonry (CMU or cinder blocks) or of concrete. Poured concrete walls have the advantage of a greater integral strength, which may b… See more

A common alternative to stem walls, at least in some of the warmer parts of the United States, are monolithic foundations, sometimes called monoslabs. With monolithic c… See more