Foundation walls are the walls that are typically seen in the basement of houses. The bottom wall is on a footing with a slab on grade attached to it. The top of the wall is tied into the first-floor framing. Sometimes in a garage or in different type of conditions, the wall may be tied into a higher slab on grade. The wall retains the soil behind it, which exerts a horizontal force on the wall away from the soil. This typically pushes the bottom of the wall and the top of the wall outward away from the soil.
