A stem wall slab is a type of stem wall that can be used to support earth-retaining structures. It is made up of concrete, steel reinforcement, and gravel or soil. The stem wall slab has two parts: the stem itself and the footing which can also be referred to as the base plate.

Building a stem wall slab starts by digging out an area for it on level ground and then pouring reinforced concrete into it. After this step, you need to make sure that your stem will stand up straight without bending over time due to pressure from any other weight on top so you should brace it with vertical poles or metal beams called piles if necessary before pouring in the dirt for additional reinforcement.

It’s important to know the difference between a stem wall and other foundation types. A common misconception is that a slab on grade (concrete pad) is also called a stem wall, but there are some key differences worth noting:

A stem wall requires vertical soil stabilization so it won’t move under the pressure from the earth around it. This typically means piling up dirt or using stones or something else as backfill material. It’s important not to use just any old dirt for this because undisturbed contaminated soil can cause problems later when excavating for utilities like water lines and sewer pipes–or even lead to contamination of your drinking supply if you don’t treat it first with chemicals such as polyethylene glycol, calcium oxide, or sodium hypochlorite.

Hence the stem wall should be placed on new fill material such as crushed rock to minimize the potential for contamination from the underlying soil.

Stem wall vs Monolithic Slab. The main difference between a stem wall and a monolithic slab is the construction process. A stem wall must be built before pouring concrete for the foundation, while a monolithic slab can usually be poured directly over compacted earth or gravel which has been leveled previously.

Stem walls are typically made of precast segments that have to be assembled on site but they may also be cast in place using slip forms. This means that you do not need any formwork when building them, just start with some rebar mesh and pour in your first layer of concrete (usually called pad slabs). Additional layers are then added as blocks until reaching desired height – this technique is used to make long lengths of identical segmental sections quickly without having to build wooden forms.

Monolithic slabs are poured in place and for this reason, they do not usually have any formwork attached to the top of them. They can be made from precast segments, but these are set into a bed of concrete which is then reinforced with steel bars or mesh – typically it takes about four layers of alternating reinforcement before pouring the next layer (compared to just one layer when using stem walls).

Stem walls are the most common foundation type for new construction. They’re simple and inexpensive to build, which is why so many homes have them. Stem wall foundations can rest on several different types of soil with varying levels of compressibility; sandy soils or clayey soils are great examples because they don’t change volume as much when pressure is applied.