bewildered:
Bad idea. Instead fill them up with stones or broken bricks. Laterite could accommodate moisture and weaken the block in the long run.

All the ancient buildings in Timbuktu are made of clay and have withstand pressure for more than two hundred years.

Continue with the lies.

1) Take great care not to allow laterite to fall into the blocks.

2) Use damp proof membrane.

3) Fill in the blocks holes with wet concrete if budget allows.

Good luck on your project.

jumpandpas:


What do you know about mud?

Few, that's y I can't advise anyone anything on mud

bewildered:
Bad idea. Instead fill them up with stones or broken bricks. Laterite could accommodate moisture and weaken the block in the long run.

u have done justice to it,just my advice

BluntCrazeMan:

[s]As we already know, in a situation where there was no foundation chaining-beam constructed before the filling of the foundation, it had always been a common practice to block-off the holes in the block-works (especially when hollow blocks were used in the block-works) while filling the foundation with laterite soil, and also during the casting of the DPC floor.[/s]

I am now asking...
Is there anything wrong in filling the holes of the foundation block-works with the laterite soil while the filling of the foundation was going on.??
..
In fact, what exactly is the main reason why the holes in the foundation block-works are being blocked-off during the filling of foundation with Laterite??
.

Five (5) pages and no straight answer to your question.
You know why? You can't learn Engineering on the pages of a social forum.

For starters, there is no relationship between absence of "chaining beam" and filling of pore spaces in hollow blocks.

To your question. Straight answer is there is nothing wrong in filling the voids in hollow block wall with any sort of materials your imagination an suggest. If there was, construction methodology textbooks would have prescribed that brick layers ensured that nothing drops within the hollows while laying.

Go back and pick up your books on "Strength of Materials" for clearer understanding on why Engineers use one type of material instead of the other. Like why wood instead of Steel?

Now there is a difference between Partition block wall and a load bearing block wall. Truth is that 99.9% of the design and building construction you see today in accordance to BS8110 doesn't utilize load bearing walls. So the block wall in the foundation you referred to are just Partition walls. Whether you use hollow blocks or Solid blocks it makes no structural difference. So its not considered in the design.

Use of hollow blocks was just to save costs. But it's so easy to bore a hole through for thieves to penetrate. That answers your question as to the origin of filling with broken blocks and pouring in weak concrete.
Shalom

It is not advisable, in time to come once the soil absorb water the soil will start to grow later it turns to semi stone which will start breaking the blocks

Is advisable to fill with weak concrete, if cracks occur in your foundation,solid filled can prevents the building from cracks.

Good day , it's a wrong practice laterite is not weak congret , so instead of giving strength to the foundation walls it will weaken it expecially when the water level of the ground increase , it will soak the wall and the laterite will rise , it can cos cracks .

The reason why the hole is filled with weak concrete is to prevent dampness and secondly strenghten the wall against earth movement but not with laterite

I'm not a civil engineer but I am a student of quantity suroand I've been fortunate enough to be in a building environment for about 10 years, from labour to chain man to assistant surveyor even as a student of quantity surveying, the best practice is to fill the blocks with concrete, nor as strong as the one used for beam, but if in a case where you'll like to use laterite, use red sand to avoid vegetation growing later. But if you can afford it concrete is best

BluntCrazeMan:
Fellow builders and Engineers in the house..
Good Morning Ooo.
...
As we already know, in a situation where there was no foundation chaining-beam constructed before the filling of the foundation, it had always been a common practice to block-off the holes in the block-works (especially when hollow blocks were used in the block-works) while filling the foundation with laterite soil, and also during the casting of the DPC floor. (A labourer is actually being paid to do the blocking of the holes).
..
I am now asking...
Is there anything wrong in filling the holes of the foundation block-works with the laterite soil while the filling of the foundation was going on.??
..
In fact, what exactly is the main reason why the holes in the foundation block-works are being blocked-off during the filling of foundation with Laterite??
..
I really need to know the reason.
I need to learn this.

It's actually bad to fill the hollow of the blocks with laterite. It's better you fill it with broken block or weak concrete; 1:4:8. The laterite absorbs and retains moisture which affects the strength of the block as time goes on.

saferoom:
The best practice is to fill the Blocks in the foundation with weak concrete (or normal concrete if you can afford it). The reason for filling blocks with concrete is obvious: To make the blocks stronger as if they are concrete blocks.
There is what is called EARTH PRESSURE acting on the blocks which makes the blockwork act as if they are Retaining Walls. So leaving them Hollow like that is not the best however since to avoid the cost of filling them with concrete, they just assign a labourer to block the holes before putting the chain beam to connect all the columns (pillars)

Then coming to the question of filling the blocks with laterite (filling sand), is not a common practice thought some people do it. It is not advisable to have earth on both sides of the block and also inside the blocks. The soil inside the holes of the blocks doesnt offer added strength like concrete will do, so it becomes an added load on the blocks. It is like a pregnant woman. The baby inside her is an added load. Whatever doesnt make you stronger makes you weaker. It's a universal principle.

If you have added questions you can ask on this thread on Nairaland
https://www.nairaland.com/2406381/ask-all-questions-building-foundations

Wow! Honestly, I appreciated this. Would you believe I’m undertaking my Industrial Training currently as a Civil Engineer, and everything you explained out here was what we did on the project on site. We used weak concrete, like 1:9:18 and whatever. But your write ups here actually go a long way on shedding more light.

I doff my hat

Yes

FalseProphet1:
More than 90% of replies here will be meaningless to question asked by the op.

This I have seen.

This guy nor well at all

jumpandpas:
Very wrong. Pls avoid anything laterite in your building.

Why??

AvalonSpace:
There's nothing wrong with blocking the holes with laterite. After all, the German floor is always cast on a compacted laterite. Some people block the holes with pieces of blocks just to avoid wastage of materials.

There is a great wrong in this. You are giving these block high moisture content as the block will now be faced with external moisture content from surrounding soil and internal capillary rise in moisture as a result of the laterite used in filling the blocks. This is a high risk for the block and its strength.

If you know u will be able to compact insde the blocks to avoid settlement of the sand and without damage to foundation walls...then u are good to go.

Kolisky:



Wow! Honestly, I appreciated this. Would you believe I’m undertaking my Industrial Training currently as a Civil Engineer, and everything you explained out here was what we did on the project on site. We used weak concrete, like 1:9:18 and whatever. But your write ups here actually go a long way on shedding more light.

I doff my hat

Hope ur 1 is a bag of cement.

Fill with lean concrete. Laterite is a no no

Earth pressure acting on the hollow sandcrete block is the reason for filling the block with mass concrete.... filling it with laterite is actually wrong as it adds load and not strength to the block......

Filling the hollow blocks of your foundation with laterite is wrong. We fill it with concrete to control termites, don't be surprised that termites will destroy the room trusses soon after you complete your building construction.

Since the building does not have beam (chaining) that'll will help in load distribution and stability, it will be advisable u leave the holes open and partially cover with concrete.
Pls don't ever introduce laterite. It's never an acceptable building material

sirqeeboi:


Hope ur 1 is a bag of cement.

Yes, not half

Just thinking, Than using hollow blocks and later filling it, is it not best to use solid block for the foundation?

Makaveli217:
Just thinking, Than using hollow blocks and later filling it, is it not best to use solid block for the foundation?

Solid blocks ke? They can never advice their clients to use solid blocks. It must be the almighty 9" hollow blocks which to me makes no sense.

Hatesin:


Solid blocks ke? They can never advice their clients to use solid blocks. It must be the almighty 9" hollow blocks which to me makes no sense.

I still don't get it, maybe because of cost. I've seen some use 5" and 6" hollow blocks then later starts filling it, like why not use the solid blocks that doesn't require filling.

FalseProphet1:
More than 90% of replies here will be meaningless to question asked by the op.

This I have seen.

You saw wrongly shaa

Formularcr7:
Are you an engineer?

I don't think this question answered the main question..

bastardson:
The way you constructed the question tho..

This is why some of us fail in exams, the tutor cannot understand your response

You're not in the field, so how would you understand?
The question was directed to some certain persons, and they have flooded the thread with the answers I needed.

Eze2000:



Why would he even want to fill the blocks in his foundations with sand that can't hold Itself? Common sense should have screamed a big no to him.

@op.
If you can't afford to use concrete use Virgin red earth sand. Never filling sand.

Na landlord experience dey talk not engineer biko.

Which one is Virgin Red Earth Sand Again??
Why don't you say RIVER SHARP SAND??
..
Or abi river sharp sand is not good?

Reference:
They should not be filled with anything. The reason why hollow blocks are sometimes used in foundations is to present a moisture barrier between the soil surrounding the building which can get very moist under rainfall and the materials used in filling to grade which should remain stable.

Laterite which is a derivative of clay compounds has distinctive properties of water affinity. It attracts and bonds to water easiily and thus will cause two undesirable effects.

It will increase in volume and place tensile stresses within hollow block structure degrading its lifespan.
Secondly, it will act as a capillary to transmit moisture into the foundation leading to the degredation of the fill material.

Where foundations have to be reinforced to provide retention concrete is the best material for that purpose however alternative waterproofing regimes should be provided to protect the fill.

This your moniker sef...
You no go know when people quoted you properly.
Na so you go dey see mentions anyhow, yet they never quoted you or mentioned your person

MadamExcellency:


All the ancient buildings in Timbuktu are made of clay and have withstand pressure for more than two hundred years.

Continue with the lies.

What is the ground moisture content of Timbuktu like??