What the heck is this called?

What is the part of the foundation wall called that juts out? The part all the storage is on? What is the purpose of constructing it like this?

"wide grade beam." who knows what loads they were anticipating.

Raised Footing aka Overkill Footing

Biggest stem wall I've ever seen.

I'll usually see that in an older home that did not originally have a basement. The original foundation footing goes down to below frost line, but not down to below the current basement floor level. When they later dug out the basement, they left a wide shelf of virgin soil to prevent disturbing the original footing. They do often take this shelf down to the level of the original footing, or a little above it, but they never go down below the original footing anywhere close to it. They'll usually then at least put a thick parge coat over the soil to "finish" it, and the result is that handy dandy storage shelf area.

MichaelCfffg wrote:I'll usually see that in an older home that did not originally have a basement. The original foundation footing goes down to below frost line, but not down to below the current basement floor level. When they later dug out the basement, they left a wide shelf of virgin soil to prevent disturbing the original footing. They do often take this shelf down to the level of the original footing, or a little above it, but they never go down below the original footing anywhere close to it. They'll usually then at least put a thick parge coat over the soil to "finish" it, and the result is that handy dandy storage shelf area.

Interesting. So it's not structural?

Juan Jimenez wrote:

Interesting. So it's not structural?

It is structural in that the shelf is left in order to keep the digging out of the basement from becoming a structural issue - if that makes sense.

Would like to have had a better look, if only the plastic and all that crap was not covering it. Maybe a mausoleum tomb.

did you probe it, Juan?!

Pete Campbell wrote:Would like to have had a better look, if only the plastic and all that crap was not covering it. Maybe a mausoleum tomb.

did you probe it, Juan?!

Yeah it was falling apart. Literally. It was crumbling.

I told my clients I had no idea what it was, what it was for, or whether or not it needed to be repaired. I told them to call JES, a structural company here to evaluate it.

I'd never been so clueless, and I am still not certain what it is.

Juan Jimenez wrote:

Pete Campbell wrote:Would like to have had a better look, if only the plastic and all that crap was not covering it. Maybe a mausoleum tomb.

did you probe it, Juan?!

Yeah it was falling apart. Literally. It was crumbling.

I told my clients I had no idea what it was, what it was for, or whether or not it needed to be repaired. I told them to call JES, a structural company here to evaluate it.

I'd never been so clueless, and I am still not certain what it is.

Its pretty obvious, its a concrete storage shelf

Kevin Moore wrote:

Juan Jimenez wrote:

Pete Campbell wrote:Would like to have had a better look, if only the plastic and all that crap was not covering it. Maybe a mausoleum tomb.

did you probe it, Juan?!

Yeah it was falling apart. Literally. It was crumbling.

I told my clients I had no idea what it was, what it was for, or whether or not it needed to be repaired. I told them to call JES, a structural company here to evaluate it.

I'd never been so clueless, and I am still not certain what it is.

Its pretty obvious, its a concrete storage shelf

Good call. It's definitely not structural then.

Juan Jimenez wrote:

Good call. It's definitely not structural then.

Not most of it; I can't see how far it goes behind everything

It could be a bench footing, sometimes called a Dutch wall, when the basement floor has been lowered in an old house for additional ceiling height this is added to help support the original footing. Not saying that is what it is, I do see these walls all the time in older homes and they are usually pretty solid.

Does it go around the entire basement or is it only on this wall?

If it goes around the entire basement I would agree with the others and say the basement was lowered. If it's only on one wall it could be there to fix a bowing wall.

Dale P

My experience is similar to that of Michael and Dan. A historic district near me has many homes with full-height basements added subsequent to the original construction.

Unfortunately, many of them were poorly done. Some even have concrete hardly thicker than a parge coating added over bare sand. Sometimes the sidewalls are even sloped or mounded.