Forms for footings are usually just dug into the earth. For a shallow foundation, you can dig care­fully and let the earth serve for the forms of the footing. You can then build your forms or a wall of blocks on the footing you have poured in the trench.

The forms for the foundation can be made of lumber that you will use later in the building. Try to use lumber that you will not want to cut, as the cement clings to the lumber and will dull your saw. Do not use the sub-floor lumber for forms; it is too hard to get them clean enough for a satisfactory sub-floor. Use the studding for uprights, the roof boards for the face of the forms, and the joists for strong-backs and bracing, and possibly for the face of the forms for the outside of the wall.

If the wall is not more than 2' or so high, you can usually drive stakes to hold the bottom of the forms in line, and you can tie across the top with wire, or you can nail 1" x 3" strips across the top above the concrete to hold the forms together.

If the forms are to be high, as for basement walls, you will need to make them very strong and secure. The forms, which are built only to hold the concrete until it has "set," should always be thought of as temporary in nature. They must be accurate, as the concrete will take the shape the forms permit. They must be well braced, and a person should think of the direction the pressure will take as the concrete is poured into the forms and build them to withstand that pressure. The pressure will depend largely on the height of concrete placed at one time. If you pour a foot or so and let that "set" a half hour or more before more is placed on top of it, the forms do not have to be nearly as strong as if several feet are poured at one time in one place. Rapid pouring does make a better job, however, than having too much time elapse between successive layers.

If the earth will stand without danger of caving, you can often use it for the outside forms. If, how­ever, you want to waterproof the outside of the basement after it is poured, have the bulldozer ex­cavate two or three feet larger all around than the basement is to be. Then dig trenches for the foot­ings. Pour the footings and use them as a platform on which to build the forms for the walls. Build the outside forms first, get them square and plumb, and well braced; then build the inside forms. The two will be tied together with wire, or with special bolts, or ties which you can often rent for the job and re­turn after the job is finished.

The uprights for the forms will consist of 2"x4"s placed at not more than 2' intervals; the lining of the forms can be heavy plywood, 5/8" thick or heavier, or it can be 3/4" shiplap, or other common lumber. The horizontal pieces that are placed back of the upright 2" x 4"s are called wales; they are com­posed of two pieces of 2" x 4" or 2" x 6" with bolts between them, spaced at 2' intervals. These are the pieces that hold the wall straight and to which the braces are often fastened.

Forms should be built with the idea of ease of removal in mind as well as for sturdiness.

Piers under the house where there is no basement can be precast or they can easily be made of concrete, right in place. Dig a hole down to solid earth about 2' square; pour 8" of concrete in the hole; then place a form on this concrete and fill it up to a point at least 8" above the ground. Then take a piece of red­wood 6" x 8" into which you have partially driven five or six I6d spikes, and place it on the top of the pier with the heads of the spikes down in the con­crete. When the concrete has set, this piece will be permanently fastened in place, and you can place the sill on it, or a short post under the sill if necessary to bring the sill to the right height.

A quick way to make the form for the pier is to shape a cylinder 10" in diameter from a piece of tough roofing felt, using two 8d nails to pin it to­gether at the seam. One man can hold this in place while another fills it by shoveling concrete into it. When it is full and the redwood block placed on top of it, no further attention is necessary, and the paper does not have to be removed, unless you wish to do so.

Or you can get large hollow concrete blocks and place them on the 8" of poured concrete with good results. Then fill the cells with concrete and fasten a wood block on the concrete blocks with bolts or nails.

To indicate the level of the top of the concrete in the forms, it is a good idea to make the forms come exactly to the top on the outside, whereas the inside forms will be higher to avoid pouring the concrete over the wall. But if it is inconvenient to make the top of the forms the right height, drive finish nails at four-foot intervals, letting them project into the forms 3/4" or so along the line of the top of the con­crete. Then when you pour the concrete these nails will indicate how high to fill the forms, and when you smooth the top of the wall, you can find these nails and get the top exactly right.

Do not forget to put the 1/2" bolts at 6' inter­vals in the top of the wall, projecting up enough to go through the mud sill.

After the concrete is placed and finished, wait a few hours and then sprinkle it frequently and keep it wet for several days to be sure it will set prop­erly. Concrete must not be permitted to dry out be­fore it has "set" thoroughly, which is about two weeks after it is poured. Keep it wet for at least a week, anyway; longer is better. It is theoretically not set for 28 days, but a shorter curing period seems satisfactory for house floors, especially in warm or hot weather. Concrete sets much faster in hot weather. In cool weather, when the temperature, is near freez­ing, the set is very slow. Concrete must never be al­lowed to freeze, until it has been cured for at least a week or two.

If you must pour your foundation or slab in freezing weather, you should heat the gravel and sand, and perhaps the water before mixing. Then place it immediately, covering with straw or earth, or other insulating material to prevent freezing for sev­eral days. In large buildings they cover with canvas and heat the space under the canvas to keep the build­ing warm until the concrete has set. It is simpler to do other work and let the concrete pouring wait for good weather. Concrete does the best in the spring when the weather is cool and the humidity is high, but can of course be poured any time of the year.

Foundation Walls

If the foundation is not to be more than two or three feet high, considerable time and effort can be saved by making the walls of concrete blocks.

Pour the footing in the usual way in a trench, taking spe­cial care to see that it is level. Stretch the strings again to find the corners of the building. Take the level or a plumb bob and locate the exact corners of the building on the concrete foundation. Then strike chalk lines showing the exact outlines of the building on the footing.

To chalk a line, hold the chalk in the right hand, round side in the palm of the hand, pass the line over the flat side of the chalk and hold it in contact with the chalk with the right thumb. Fasten the line at one end. Hold the line with the left hand. As you back up from the place where the line is fastened, draw the line over the chalk, holding it in contact with the chalk with the right thumb. Rotate the chalk with the fingers of the right hand so a groove will not be worn in the chalk by the line. When you have reached the place where the chalk line is to end, hold the line down on the surface with the left hand and stretch it tightly. Lift the line with the right hand reaching out as far as you can from the place where the left hand is holding the line in contact with the surface and drop the line suddenly. When the line strikes the surface, it will make a uniform straight chalk line on the surface. Do not try to strike the line more than once at any one place. Always put chalk on the line again before attempting to strike another line.

If the footing was poured level, it will be much easier to start the block work. Place a block at each corner of the building, bedding it in about 1/2" of mortar; then stretch a line tightly between the two corners even with the top of the blocks. Lay the blocks with 1/2" to 5/8" joints between them, and put them right up to the line, taking care that the line is not pushed out of place. Keep the outside of the blocks plumb and the tops of the blocks level.

For laying blocks use a mortar composed of one part cement to three parts sand, plus a little lime or fire clay. Mix the mortar to an easy working con­sistency, wet the blocks, and begin work. If the mor­tar is too thin, it will be easily squeezed out of place, and if it is too thick, you will have difficulty in get­ting the blocks to bed down properly into it. A little experimenting will indicate the proper consistency for the mortar.

Take care to keep the wall plumb; laying up the corner plumb and stretching the lines tightly should assure a plumb wall.

About two hours after the blocks have been laid the joints should be pointed up with a small trowel or other tool to give them a neat appearance.

When the foundation has reached the desired height, place anchor bolts at 6' centers along the foundation wall, filling the appropriate holes with concrete or mortar to hold the bolts in place. These anchor bolts are 1/2" in diameter and should be about 10" long. Be sure they extend up far enough to come through the 2" x 6" plate and leave room enough for the nut, but not so far that the nut will not tighten down.

Reinforcing is not usually considered necessary if the wall is less than 4' high. Walls higher than this are better built of concrete, or the blocks can be reinforced with 1/2" iron rods spaced at 2' intervals around the wall, with a bond beam at the top re­inforced with four 1/2" or two 5/8" reinforcing iron rods.