..This Is A Continuation Of The Earlier Thread..
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IS IT A BAD PRACTICE TO FILL THE HOLES IN FOUNDATION BLOCK-WORKS WITH LATERITE?
https://www.nairaland.com/6735262/it-bad-practice-fill-holes

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Most of the responses to the thread suggested that the holes be filled with Lean Concrete.
Some even suggested that it should be left void and unfilled, so that seepage water can be trapped in the void and would not get into the foundation..
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But nobody suggested that the Hollow Blocks at the foundation should be replaced by “SOLID BLOCKS”
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I may not know it all here.
But I need to know more.
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Are there some disadvantages in using “Solid Blocks” (solid sandcrete blocks in particular) in the FOUNDATION OF BUILDINGS?
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NOTES:
1). The Solid Blocks are for the Foundation ONLY.
The rest of the Super-structure would be done with Hollow-Blocks As Usual.
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2). I am also aware of the numerous advantages of the hollow-blocks over the solid-blocks, which include: lighter dead-load on the structure, lighter-weight in handling, smaller volume of sandcrete required in its making, smaller volume of mortar required in binding with the next block, and so on..
But for the sake of being used as FOUNDATION BLOCKS, can these apparent advantages be overlooked??

While the weight of a 9" sandcrete blocks is more than its hollow brother, the strength isn't. What Engineers tend to solve most in construction is how to reduce the weight (excessive load) without compromising the strength and stability of the structure.

Sure you can use it, but you'll have to increase your foundation depth to carry it's extra load which overall increase the cost of the project

emae009:
While the weight of a 9" sandcrete blocks is more than its hollow brother, the strength isn't. What Engineers tend to solve most in construction is how to reduce the weight (excessive load) without compromising the strength and stability of the structure.

Sure you can use it, but you'll have to increase your foundation depth to carry it's extra load which overall increase the cost of the project

The Solid Blocks (as suggested in the original post) are for the Foundation ONLY.
The rest of the Super-structure would be done with Hollow-Blocks As Usual.

Many factors to be considered.

1 if your site is swampy & it's difficult to reach a solid strata before pouring your concrete base foundation, how will filling the hollow blocks with weak concrete help the weight of the building on foundation?

2. If your sandcrete blocks in foundation is up to the strength of British Standard,why fill the the blocks thorough with weak concrete? While you can fill the last course of the foundation with broken blocks or stones to prevent your concrete from entering the holes while casting the concrete slab.

BluntCrazeMan:
The Solid Blocks (as suggested in the original post) are for the Foundation ONLY.
The rest of the Super-structure would be done with Hollow-Blocks As Usual.

read the second paragraph of my comment

emae009:


read the second paragraph of my comment

Ok.
..
The reason I wrote that is because:
If you increase the depth of the foundation in order for it to carry its own load, it will also increase its own load that it is supposed to carry..
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Isn't it??

Sunmolar:
Many factors to be considered.

1 if your site is swampy & it's difficult to reach a solid strata before pouring your concrete base foundation, how will filling the hollow blocks with weak concrete help the weight of the building on foundation?

2. If your sandcrete blocks in foundation is up to the strength of British Standard,why fill the the blocks thorough with weak concrete? While you can fill the last course of the foundation with broken blocks or stones to prevent your concrete from entering the holes while casting the concrete slab.

..
..
All these questions you asked here were fully answered in the previous thread..
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https://www.nairaland.com/6735262/it-bad-practice-fill-holes
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Click on it and read it up.
Thanks.

Lalasticlala,
Seun

Mynd44

BluntCrazeMan:
Ok.
..
The reason I wrote that is because:
If you increase the depth of the foundation in order for it to carry its own load, it will also increase its own load that it is supposed to carry..
..
Isn't it??

the weight of a 9" solid sandcrete blocks is massive. That's for just one. if you multiply it by the number of blocks needed to reach the "German floor". that's a whole lot of weight.
In Nigeria, except in specials scenarios, must construction are done by experience not what is stated by the Engineer.
A PS that has built a storey building before will always use that knowledge to build the next one without taking into consideration things like soil bearing capacity and others.

So why I said you should increase the depth of the foundation is because most foundation structures are built using the hollow blocks so whosoever is in charge will use that same knowledge without considering the weight of the blocks.
The foundation might carry but it will exert so much stress on it that it might be close to it's failure point

My dear intellectuals (both in the field of practice, and in the wealth of knowledge)..
Please what's your take on this current situation described above?

BluntCrazeMan:
Please you comments are needed here.
Thanks.
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I am not an Engineer by profession.
But I have basic engineering skills by innate.
I have noticed that the soil/earth tend to weather foundation blocks over time.
To this: I suggest you use blocks of higher strength for your foundation.
i.e blocks with high cement content.
I suggest you chose solid blocks in the foundation or ground floor to hollow blocks.
I suggest you carry out a soil test to determine the strength of the soil so as to know the optimal foundation depth for building stability.
I suggest if you choose hollow blocks for your foundation, you filled it with concrete for reinforcement.
Concrete is better than laterite cuz of the the cohesion/bond that the concrete have over laterite.
The best is to chain your foundation with reinforced concrete if you can afford it.

ThinkSmarter:
I am not an Engineer by profession.
But I have basic engineering skills by innate.
I have noticed that the soil/earth tend to weather foundation blocks over time.
To this: I suggest you use blocks of higher strength for your foundation.
i.e blocks with high cement content.
I suggest you chose solid blocks in the foundation or ground floor to hollow blocks.
I suggest you carry out a soil test to determine the strength of the soil so as to know the optimal foundation depth for building stability.
I suggest if you choose hollow blocks for your foundation, you filled it with concrete for reinforcement.
Concrete is better than laterite cuz of the the cohesion/bond that the concrete have over laterite.
The best is to chain your foundation with reinforced concrete if you can afford it.

Thanks