Get matched with top concrete wall service pros in Wolf Point, MT

Aim for a concrete thickness of at least 4 inches for the walls of your above-ground storm shelter and 3.0 to 3.5 cubic yards of concrete for the base of your storm shelter. If you’re concerned about the thickness of your concrete while building a storm shelter, get in touch with a professional storm shelter builder to make sure your work is up to code and safe. 

Concrete houses cost 10% to 20% more to build than stick-built homes, and maintenance on home systems is more invasive and expensive due to pipes and wires being buried in concrete. Concrete homes can also look more industrial and less comfortable if you don’t cover the concrete with finishing materials. It’s also more challenging to make changes to concrete, so reframing doors and windows or building home additions will cost more. Concrete needs time to cure, too, so the timeline to build a house out of concrete is a bit longer.

The ideal base for concrete is even, firm, and permeable to encourage drainage. Depending on your project's weight requirements, a combination of gravel, sand, or other aggregates is best. While you can technically pour concrete over grass, dirt, or an old piece of concrete, you risk threatening the concrete's stability.

Any bowing in a basement wall indicates a problem that needs to be addressed by a professional. If your basement wall bows more than 1 inch, it's time for an inspection. Generally, a wall can bow up to 30% of its thickness (around 2.5 inches for an 8-inch-thick wall) before it becomes an urgent situation. Bowing of 2 to 4 inches is more straightforward to fix than bowing of more than 4 inches, which will require significant repairs. If the bowing is more than 6 inches, the wall will likely need to be replaced. The sooner you address the problem, the easier and less expensive the repair will be.