Backfilling

basics
Backfilling the wrong way often costs
more than doing it right

BY R. T. BUCK BARTLEY

ackfillingan essential step in basement con-

B structionis all too often the beginning of

basement destruction. Done improperly,
backfilling causes problems that may start be-
fore the builder leaves the site and may remain long
after hes gone. But the problems can be avoided by tak-
ing a few simple precautions.
There are four key elements to proper backfilling:
Protecting the foundation wall from damage during
backfilling
Using the right backfill materials
Compacting the backfill
Final finishing the subgrade to ensure that water
drains away from the foundation
Done correctly, these four steps help to ensure that a
well-built basement functions the way its supposed to,
providing the homeowner with dry, usable living space.

Protecting the wall during backfilling

The surest way to protect walls from damage during
backfilling is to backfill only after the basement floor
slab and the first-floor deck are in place. For the deck,
sill plates should be bolted down and joists nailed to the
sill plate. This provides the restraint needed to make the
wall strong enough to resist earth pressures caused by
backfilling.
Home builders seldom want to wait until the deck is
in place, howe ve r. Early backfilling speeds the framing
process by making the foundation more accessible for
carpenters so they dont have to ramp in.
An alternative is bracing the walls before the deck is
built. We do this for all straight walls longer than 24 feet
that dont have offsets or pilasters. Corners, offsets, and
pilasters add structural stiffness to the foundation wall.
But we figure as a rule of thumb that the stiffening effect
is negligible more than 12 feet away from the corner.
Hence straight spans longer than 24 feet need bracing.
We use ve rtical bracingsteel braces fabri c a t e d
f rom 3-inch-diameter schedule 40 pipewhich we Figure 1. Vertical or horizontal bracing can be used to
quick-bolt to the wall and slab or pier pad as shown in protect walls from damage during backfilling. Vertical
braces can be made from steel pipe (drawing a) or lumber
Figure 1a. We also modify some shoring jacks from a
(drawing b). Horizontal bracing (drawing c) works well for
form manufacturer to do the same thing. Another op- straight walls up to 48 feet long.
tion is bracing with lumber using above the footing. Then toenail a costly problem. Fixing it will re-
scaffold boards or 3x12s as shown 3x12s diagonally across the corners quire pushing out the bow in the
in Figure 1b. as shown. Add 2x4 cleats and kickers wall and repairing the crack with
If the slab and pier pads cant be to prevent slippage and flex. This epoxy injection. As insurance
used for bracing, horizontal bracing system works well for walls up to 48 against a wall failure, having two
as shown in Figure 1c is usually ad- feet long. Beyond that length addi- carpenters work a couple of hours
equate. Attach 3x 12s to all four tional intermediate vertical bracing bracing the wall is a good invest-
walls, parallel to and about 4 feet is needed, attached to pier pads, ment.
footings, or wood
stakes firmly dri- Choosing the right backfill ma-
ven into the terial
ground. Some people recommend back-
Although most filling with a free-draining granular
building codes material. Im not so sure thats al-
require that ways a good idea. When you dig a
foundation walls hole in the ground for a foundation,
be adequately water moves toward the hole just as
braced before it does in a well. A granular fill
backfilling, most makes it easier for water to move to-
home builders ward the foundation wall. And if the
dont use braces drain tile system gets plugged, that
for poured con- could cause problems.
crete walls. They I think the object should be to re-
believe that the store equilibrium, as nearly as pos-
concrete is strong sible, to the soil moisture system.
enough to resist That usually means putting back in
p re s s u re caused the same soil that came out. But not
by backfilling. if its a poor soil. If heavy, moisture-
And they may get laden, or expansive clays are re-
by without dam- moved during excavation, granular
aging the wall. backfill with an exterior drainage
But too often a system would be the best choice.
wall gets pushed Also avoid backfilling with large
in (Figure 2). clumps of clay or with soil full of
Sometimes this roots, tree branches, or other organ-
happens during ic materials (Figure 3). These mate-
the winter when rials wont compact well and will
concrete doesnt hold a lot of water even if the
gain strength ground slope is steep enough to car-
quickly because ry surface water away from the
of low tempera- house.
t u re s. Sometimes The amount of overdig for a foun-
its because the ex- dation is about 3 feet. Splash blocks
cavating contrac- for downspouts dont usually carry
tors equipment water more than a foot or two away
gets too close to from the foundation (Figure 4). So
the wall. And most of the water that comes off the
sometimes rain roof may still end up next to the
saturates the area foundation if the backfill is porous.
around the foun-
dation soon after Compacting the backfill
its backfilled, in- As backfill soil settles, drainage
Figure 2. Backfilling pushed in this unbraced wall and c reasing soil pres- patterns change and water may flow
cracked it. The diagonal crack was repaired by the home s u res enough to t ow a rd the house or pond next to
builder but the wall still leaked when the owner moved in. cause a wall failure. the foundation. Compaction is
Fixing the problem required excavation, pushing out the Whatever the needed to reduce the amount of soil
wall, and installing new waterproofing at a cost much cause, the home settlement that occurs with time.
greater than doing the job right the first time. builder is left with Fa i l u re to compact the soil can
 trough caused by the foundation saturates the soil
settlement and and makes basement leakage more
s t a rted leaking likely.
t h rough shri n k- If the house is set high enough on
age cracks in the the lot, getting the correct grade for
foundation wall. drainage isnt difficult. Too often,
Co r recting the howe ve r, houses are built too low.
faulty dra i n a g e Then instead of the code-re q u i re d
stopped the 8-inch minimum between the sill
leaking . plate and exterior grade level, the
Be careful when house might be built with the fin-
compacting back- ished grade only 4 to 6 inches below
fill. Some com- the plate. To avert this problem,
Figure 3. Backfilling with soil full of tree roots leaves a pactors are power- avoid making the excavation too
porous fill that can cause basement leakage. The fill cant ful enough to deep and set footing elevations high
be properly compacted and will settle with time. damage the wall. enough.
One way to avoid Avoiding basement leakage is a
this problem is to lot like preventing a roof from leak-
place the backfill ing. You need to keep the water
in 6-inch-thick moving and prevent it from collect-
lifts and have the ing in one spot. Correct backfilling
laborers tamp it methods help to accomplish this
with foot pressure goal.
or hand rammers.
Vibrating plate
Buck Bartley is a general contractor
compactors also
in Silver Spring, MD. Hes a former
can be used for
p resident of the Poured Concre t e
granular backfill
Wall Contractors Association, now
without damaging
called the Concrete Foundation As-
the wall. It takes
sociation.
Figure 4. Splash blocks often dont carry water from more time to com-
downspouts beyond the backfilled area. Then water from pact thin layers, Publication # C910315
the roof saturates the backfill. but the method Copyright 1991, The Aberdeen
provides insur- Group. All rights reserved
ance against wall
damage and
against call-backs
related to drainage
problems.

Final finishing
to the correct
grade
Di ve rting sur-
face water away
from the founda-
tion is one of the
most effective
Figure 5. Settlement can occur rapidly in poorly compacted
backfills. Water collecting in the low spots may cause ways to pre ve n t
basement leakage even before the house is completed. basement leak-
age. The mini-
mum slope for
cause basement leakage even be- finished grade should be 1/2 inch
f o re the house is completed. Fi g- per foot for at least 10 feet away
u re 5 shows the results of poor from the foundation. This is espe-
g rading and no backfill com- cially important if there are land-
paction. In this case, during rainy scaping beds near the house. Water-
we a t h e r, water collected in the ing plants in low-lying areas close to