Grout CMU Solid is about one of the principles learned by this Architect to improve the quality of residential construction.
The idea: FILL ALL FOUNDATION WALL CRACKS, CREVICES, HOLES AND VOIDS with cement (actually: cement grout, which flows better than concrete).
Why:
1. Makes the foundation wall stronger, tying together all the steel rebars and voids into a monolithic wall.
2. Prevents pests, like bugs, from making a home in the foundation wall (which usually directly connects to the wood frame walls above them).
3. Resists seismic events better than unfilled foundation block walls. CMU (Concrete Masonry Unit) walls are very weak, before they have steel reinforcing steel bars and grout filled added, to tie all those separate blocks together.
And along the walls where concrete slabs are poured for garage floors, it becomes mandatory that the any CMU surrounding walls be solidly grouted. This Architect firm believes it is better to COMPLETELY fill all the CMU voids to result in as strong of a wall as possible. Also note the Architect directed the workers to bend steel rebars from the surrounding masonry foundation walls directly into the slab area, so the slab can help hold the surrounding walls together, instead of being pushed over by the tons of gravel (soon to be dumped into the garage containment area under where the concrete slab will be poured).
The solid grout pour that is pumped into the block foundation wall becomes a “forever” kind of construction technique, that this Architect’s clients prefer. It is also interesting to note that the Terminix technicians servicing these houses the Architect has designed see significantly less poest/bug intrusion. For instance: at the Architect’s own residence (pictured above) only 3 bugs have been seen this year (2020): one dead bug in the encapsulated crawlspace, and one dead bug inside the house, near a sliding glass door, and one dead bug in the garage.
Also: there have been no cracks in this CMU foundation wall, something most block walls evidence by now. The grout and steel bars lock it all together. The closest thing to a poured concrete foundation wall at half the cost, with all the benefits.