Nauttyprof:


There is a great wrong in this. You are[b] 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.[/b] This is a high risk for the block and its strength.

adanny01:


As a Civil Engr, there is one reason i have deduced for this norm in our building industry.

Structurally, its just to increase compressive strength of the foundation wall.

Usually, any building which has no columns transmits its entire load through the walls. It is also expected that the load increases from the top to the bottom of the wall. Therefore, the foundation walls bear the entire dead and live loads of the building's superstructure. Note that the foundation walls carries more load than the superstructure walls. Also, the foundation walls experience more deterioration due to dampness, wetting, drying and even chemical contents of the soil it is constantly in contact with.

In a bid to make the blocks of the foundation stronger, it is filled with lean concrete. Concrete is good in compression so by filling the block holes, the foundation walls will bear more load and the likely hood of failure is greatly reduced.

However, in practice, most builders don't actually fill the block holes as recommended. Some put broken blocks, boulders and like you said soil. These actions completely defeats the purpose of block hole filling. Putting laterite in block holes is worse than leaving it empty. Soil or laterite will encourage damping due to capillary action.

Block hole filling becomes very important in blockwork drainage where an access slab is placed for vehicle access. Sometimes you find these blockwork reinforced. Imagine the weight of a 30ton dumper truck over block work, if no concrete filling in the blocks, if the slab doesn't fail, the blocks under the slab will crush due to excessive compression.

GodsOwn2004:



It is a very bad practice, the ideal thing to do is to fill the hollow blocks with lean concrete.

Foundations are critical element of any building structure.

Capillary action and algae growth, damping, etc poses negative impact on structural stability, serviceability, strength and aesthetics of a building structure.

randomme:
The idea of filling block holes is to give the foundation stability, and reduce moisture in the block while water capillary is high.

However, this should only be done using weak concrete of ratio 1:4:8.

Using laterite to fill the hole is a bad practice because the laterite will cause your wall to damp and your finishing (plaster, painting, tiles) will start falling off within a short time.

highoctane:

What prevents you from using solid blocks, it depends on the type of building, for a building not more than 1 floor 9inchs solid blocks is appropriate, bungalows can accommodate 6inhs solid block


Your foundation concrete Insitu should be allowed 21 days to harden or cure before laying any blocks.

In water log area or any other earth situation, the 1st to 4th foundation block coaches will be laid flat, convince the owner why it necessary to do this instead of standing.

This will prevent cracking as the building took the full weight of the roof.

Most importantly the foundation concrete must be allowed to cure, cake or harden for 21 days or more during raining periods.

But you didn't state the kind of structure you erecting

Aforxzy:
Laterite is a very fine soil material that contains alot of clay. It is not permeable and has very high water retaining capacity.

Most foundation with sancrete blocks are filled with lean concrete to make the foundation wall stronger, resist water seeping into the foundation and also counter the effect of the earth pressure on the wall.




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.

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.


First, 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.

enambobo:
The aim of grouting the block walls is to strengthen the foundation walls and offer better stability to the structure.

Hence preventing the percolation of water from the site area into the the foundation itself. Laterite offers negligible strength and zero restraints to the percolation of water. It is therefore not a suitable material for that purpose.

Also, using laterite increases the susceptibility to termite attack which in no distant time will affect the integrity of the structure. It is therefore best practice to use light concrete as a grouting material.

agent01:
It is wrong to fill foundation hollow blockwork with Laterite.

Lean mix concrete should be used because it adds to the structural strength of your foundation and also a measure to prevent horizontal dampness.

It will be a bad practice to use Laterite. It cannot replace the use of lean mix concrete to fill solid in hollow blockwork.

ArchyDesmond:
...
There is a reason why the block is a hollow block.

Filling the block with laterite will always make your internal wall damp.....weaken ur foundation and eventually collapse the wall.


You can only fill with a solid concrete not laterite

HOLAROCKDAY:


The picture you attached didn't explained your question instead you are only showing us A pad footing foundation base with it starter bar.

The reason why hollow block are been fill is to prevent upright movement of water into our foundation "Capillary water" which reduced the strength of the foundation. In many cases, it caused dampness on the building wall.

Has you have said earlier if a chain beam can't be provided, the best to do is fill in the hollow block with weak concrete.

And it is always best you provide DPC with good Damp proof membrane on your foundation to avoid story that touch later in the future.

My own 2 Kobo

lonesome501:
It's practically something everyone ((bricklayer or laborer)) does when filling the building foundation,,and the reason for that is because it's the cheapest way...

the best and costly way is to fill the blocks holes with concrete ((cement,sand, granite)),,so as to prevent the water that would be filling the blocks holes when rain falls from traveling down to damage the foundation blocks

,,JUST MY OWN OPINION

blaise26abj:


It is wrong .

Lean or weak concrete mixed with water seal additives should be used to fill instead of laterite.

This is recommended for areas with high tendency for capillary movement of water .


It is the reason lower parts of both internal and external walls have serious water damages and people tend to use tiles to cover up .

danduchi:
From a geologist point of view, laterite contains mineral like montmorillonite, illite or smectite.

Laterite with montmorillonite tends to swell when in contact with water or moisture and shrinks back when dry. So to avoid cracks on your buildings, do not fill in with laterite, rather use granite or broken blocks

Nauttyprof:


No Sir, it is bad.

It will aid capillary rise in water or moisture and also weaken the block in the long run.

Mass concrete is preferable to fill the block holes in foundation.

Charisdesigns:
It is a wrong practice

when it comes in contact with ground water through seepage it causes damp walls, hence growth of algae on your walls.


Because of it geological composition, it is prone to swell hence causes your wall to crack, which is a ripple effect of expansion within the block wall.

It also contains organic materials that deteriorate, which in turn causes shrinkage thus weakening the block walls, still resulting to crack walls


Recommendation, If you most fill your foundation hollow block, please do so with weak concrete.

bewildered:
Bad idea. Instead fill them up with stones or broken bricks.

Laterite could accommodate moisture and weaken the block in the long run.