Poured wall or blocks?

I need another shed and a buddy suggested poured concrete walls instead of cement block. Shed will be 24 x 50 with a 12 ft ceiling. Shed will be built into a bank. Which is better and why?

Block is ok but poured is better, kinda wish I had a poured foundation. Ask Larry, hes our go to guy for concrete, or ACG, they now construction good.

Concrete is obviously better but more expensive.
This is built in the side of a hill. walls below grade are 10" concrete with a double mat of 5/8 rebar on 8" centers. I built it myself, took 35 years.

Couldn't imagine a block basement wall around here with frost and a high water table.
Water would be pouring into the basement and daylight would be shining through the spaces between the blocks.

Poured concrete is better to best. It is very hard to get the same reinforcing with block and unless the masons really pay attention the risk of leaks is pretty high.
For a shed blocks are fine as long as water on the floor is OK.

I suppose a concrete block wall can be as good as a poured one if the workmanship is good. Our block basement wall has crack about three feet below ground level (about frost line); I'm told that is "normal" in this part of the country.

Use poured concrete if it is "built into a bank"- blocks have little lateral strength (will fail if the bank sluffs into the wall), and it will be a "leaker" if water builds up behind it.

poured is better, it is stonger, and easier to waterproof

I suggest poured for all the reasons given.

I may have missed what part of the country you're in so I don't know if your dealing with frost, but the most important part is drainage behind the wall that is into the bank or hill. I suggest you draintile at the base of the wall behind it (with multiple exits) and then fill with washed rock about 1-2 feet, horizontal, behind it up to the surface. Also put a silt barrier between the washed rock and the native dirt so the washed rock does not silt in over time. Also divert water away from the in-hill part of the shed if you can. Sometimes people bulldoze a small ditch above the shed so water coming down the hill can divert around it.

The same comments apply to the rest of the shed, manage the water. You need to think about the sub-grade and how it is drained. The sub-grade is the point where your sand or gravel lift meets the native clay/soil under and around your shed. Managing water is hugely important, normally not expensive (just requires thought) and can really impact the life of your shed.
Paul

I gotta go with everybody else, poured wall is best. Like it's been said before, cost a little more, last alot longer, less problems down the road. My son has a home on a flat lot with block foundation and has leaks, cracks, and bowing walls. Going to cost alot of $ to get repaired besides mess outside from excavation. Good Luck Mike

Here are the pictures I tried to upload. Paul

Poured walls where its going to be underground,block where its out of the ground espeically with windows.I've seen dozens of poured walls they are good for all the reasons mentioned but bad because they are never really square.Final costs are probably less with with the poured wall.

I used to be able to rent 24 inch forms for concrete walls. They are getting hard to find as the concrete wall companies have all gone to the big aluminum forms and rental companies don't caryy any forms at all. $12,000 to pour a basement wall on a 2000 square foot house is steep but worth it in the long run. I built a 12 inch concrete block wall five foot high on a concrete footer. It was back filled a few feet with riff raff and dirt. I stuck rebar every 12 inches in the footer and dropped the block over them while laying. I then filled the block with concrete with NO rock in it (grout). I also used a bond beam with rebar. 16 years, so far so good.

I love that field rock fireplace. We're going to put an addition on our house and I told the boss I wanted a field rock fireplace. Gerard

Concrete masonry unit (CMU) construction can be or possibly be designed to meet the requirements you may need, however, it will need to be reinforced, with ladder mesh, every or at least every other course, in addition to vertical deformed steel bars (rebar)in filled cells, spaced appropriately. Same vertical bar needs to be tied into the footing horizontal bars or at least doweled into same, when the concrete is placed. In addition to that, to further reinforce, all the cells of the CMU should be filled, might be feasible if just a short knee wall etc. On top of that your choice of CMU and masonry accessories is important, I mean you could go with 75% filled cells high strength block, say 5000 PSI, last I knew, you can't get masonry certifications for CMU any higher than that, your supplier would be best to speak to about what they have, MFR etc. Porosity may also be an issue, depending on the condition of the CMU molds they use, seems ones that have seen a lot of use contribute to this, kind of an FYI on that.

To achieve the same thing concrete will do for you, I believe your labor and possibly material will be more, again I am not talking just plain CMU here, reinforced, quality or higher strength CMU, smaller cells, + accessories for reinforcing and necessary grouting, lastly on that, you do not want to grout but a few courses at a time, we used ready mix trucks, it will blow out a wall just like a poorly braced concrete form.

I would prefer concrete; excavate, form, place rebar, place concrete, finish, provide a keyway for the wall, strip forms, then form the wall, place rebar, place concrete, strip forms and in 28 days you can put a full load on it. Concrete vs masonry might be more consistent compressive strength, depending on how the mortar is mixed. Concrete,it's solid, less permeable, better for water proofing, properly reinforced, will withstand the forces from that bank or similar influence, I would not trust a common CMU wall type against an embankment, it very well may deflect or fail depending on how strong it is built and the forces imposed on it so the wall type design is very important with CMU. I think concrete is still the better choice.

Wow, well worth your time and effort! Beautiful home

Thanks for the advice guys, knew I could count on you. Place is 20 miles south of Omaha, NE so yes, we do have frost. I plan to vee the bank uphill so water will flow around building. Looks like I should plan on drainage system as well. Properly rebarred and or meshed, and it looks like it will be a good solution. I plan to hire a pro as I dislike working with concrete and know nothing of pouring walls. Thanks guys. Those who have not chimed in yet, feel free as I will check this for a while.