Q: We're planning to build a house in a rural area where the local contractors use foundations made of cement block instead of the solid concrete we’re familiar with. Which one should we use?
—June Krieg, Wildwood, Missouri
There's a national hotline to call before beginning any excavations. Dial 811, and a utility crew shows up to map out pipelines, wires, and other underground infrastructure free of charge—meaning you won't have to worry about a charge of the electrical kind when you start to shovel.
