(a) All buildings to be used for dwelling purposes shall have masonry foundation walls carried to a depth of at least four feet below the finish yard grade as established by the City and extending not more than twenty-seven inches above the finish yard grade, in cases of a dwelling with a basement. In cases of a dwelling without a basement, the foundation wall shall be carried to a depth of at least three feet below the established yard grade and shall extend at least twenty inches but not more than twenty-seven inches above the established yard grade. That part of all foundation walls above the established yard grade shall be faced with glazed brick, stone or other material of similar density and water-absorbent characteristics.
(Ord. 25-53. Passed 3-16-63.)
(b) In all structures having foundations greater in length than twenty-eight feet, there shall be added after every second course or layer of masonry or brick Duro-wall or steel reinforcements throughout the entire length of such course or courses.
(Ord. 14-60. Passed 3-7-60.)
(c) All crawl spaces in unexcavated portions of a foundation shall have vents to the outside that can be closed off in winter and have an access opening to the basement. In addition, a minimum of two inches of concrete shall be provided to cover the ground in all crawl spaces.
(Ord. 34-66. Passed 2-7-66.)
(d) The concrete slab on the ground floor in basements shall be constructed in accordance with the following:
(1) Site preparations. The area within the foundation walls shall have all vegetation and foreign material removed, and fill material shall be free of vegetation and foreign material.
(2) Fill material. The fill material shall be compacted to assure uniform support of the slab.
(3) Base. An approved six mill poly vapor barrier with joints lapped not less than six inches shall be placed between the concrete floor slab and the prepared subgrade.
(4) Concrete quality. The concrete shall have a cement content of six and one-half bag mix containing no more water than will permit a slump between a minimum of two inches and a maximum of four inches. The concrete shall be of uniform thickness, at least three and one-half inches thick.
(5) Joints. The control joints, whether hand-tooled or sawn, shall be to a depth of one-fourth of the thickness of the slab. There shall be at a minimum one longitudinal joint at the column line and transverse joints placed at column lines, with a maximum fifteen-foot spacing for transverse joints or at points of offset.
(6) Reinforcement. Welded-wire fabric (six-inch by six-inch #10 wire) shall be placed at mid-depth of the slab. Fiber mesh may be used as a substitute for welded-wire fabric.
(Ord. 140-95. Passed 5-15-95.)