How to Pour Basement Cement Walls With Rebar

Preparation

• 1

  Snap together insulated concrete forms to create the mold for your poured cement wall. Use the guide lines on the sides of the form panels to align them properly and track the height of the wall, which is usually complete at 8 feet.

• 2

  Space the forms apart based on your structural engineer's recommendations. Insert plastic spacers that keep the inner and outer forms a uniform distance apart — typically between 8 and 10 inches.

• 3

  Insert lengths of steel rebar into the forms as you build upward. Lay rebar across the plastic spacers on each level of the form and insert additional rebar vertically in the gaps between spacers.

• 4

  Calculate the volume of cement you will need. Simply multiply the width, length and thickness of the walls. Don't subtract for the volume of the rebar or spacers, since you will need extra cement to account for spills and material that dries while working.

• 5

  Prepare a mix of cement and water in your cement mixer using the cement manufacturer's specified proportions. Use a mixer or series of mixers large enough to contain all the cement you will need at once, since continuous pouring is necessary for a strong wall.

Pouring

• 6

  Pour cement slowly into your wall form, beginning in one corner of the basement. Control the flow of cement with a spade shovel and by varying the angle of the cement mixer's chute.

• 7

  Spread the cement within the forms with a shovel and trowel, once the cement level is high enough. Reposition the cement mixer to pour in various locations at each edge of the wall or wherever the cement level is lowest.

• 8

  Continue pouring cement into the form until it rises just above the level of the form at all points along the wall.

• 9

  Remove excess cement from the top of the wall form with a hand trowel. Discard the excess material and run the flat edge of the trowel along the top of the form to create a smooth, continuous edge in the wet cement.