Rubble foundation: through bond stones at every course band
Applies only if your house has a rubble foundation.
Why — act while you have leverage
A rubble wall without through stones is two thin walls leaning on each other. It stands until the ground moves, then splits down the middle — and nothing about the finished plinth shows whether they were laid.
What to look at
- Bond stones visible on both faces of the wall, not just one
- Overlap of at least 150 mm where a pair is used instead of a single stone
- Photographs of each lift before backfill closes the trench
How to check it yourself
Through bond stones run the full thickness of the wall. IS 1597 (Part 1) requires them in walls up to 600 mm thick, and where the wall is thicker a set of two or more overlapping each other by at least 150 mm. Count them on the exposed face before backfilling — afterwards there is no way to know.
Where this comes from: IS 1597 (Part 1):1992 — Construction of Stone Masonry, Rubble Stone Masonry (indian standard or building code)
More foundation checks
- Photograph before this is covered
- Cover blocks in place — 50 mm to footing reinforcement
- Steel matches the grade and diameter on the drawing
- Concrete cured for at least seven days
- Rubble foundation: hearting solid, chips under a fifth of the volume
- RCC footing: size and depth as designed, on the correct stratum
- Raft foundation: reinforcement laid in the order the drawing gives and not walked flat
- Pile foundation: pile records kept for every pile, not a sample
- Under-reamed piles: bulb formed at the designed depth
- Plinth beam continuous and tied into the foundation
- Column starter bars plumb, with 40 mm cover and correct laps
- Backfill compacted in layers, not tipped in
- Damp proof course laid unbroken at plinth level