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Tool Talk Discussion Forum

foundation footing

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Jim K

05-04-2004 19:38:16




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Hi Ya'll I live in north central Mass and I am planning on putting an addition on my house it will be only one story high. I want to use 12 inch cement block for the foundation walls.
what I'm trying to figure out is how wide and thick do I make my footings. the ground is a mixture of hard clay and rock.
any help would be apprieciated




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Dean MINNESOTA

05-08-2004 11:16:38




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 Re: foundation footing in reply to Jim K, 05-04-2004 19:38:16  
My dad built a split level house in about 1980 that used a wooden basement out of treated 2x6 and 3/4 treated plywood sitting on top of a packed gravel footing. That hasn't been any problems with either the basement or the footing since that time. At the time my dad also tared the basement wall, but it wasn't required by code or plan.



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BobInMN

05-07-2004 18:30:51




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 Re: foundation footing in reply to Jim K, 05-04-2004 19:38:16  
Footings are normally as thick as the block is wide and twice as wide as the block. In your case they would be 12" thick and 24" wide. It can also depend upon the bearing capacity of your soil. The lower the bearing capacity the wider the footing.



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Al

05-06-2004 17:53:48




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 Re: foundation footing in reply to Jim K, 05-04-2004 19:38:16  
In some areas concete blocks are not allowed as basement walls. I once knew a guy who built a garage with blocks and below ground with the freeze thaw cycle water soaked into the blocks and expanded when it froze and cracked a lot of the blocks. It had to be torn down. If you are building in a well drained gravel type sub soil it might be ok.



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wdTom

05-05-2004 18:07:47




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 Re: foundation footing in reply to Jim K, 05-04-2004 19:38:16  
Around here (Rhode Island) a good footing is 2' by 10 or 12" thick. If you can use blocks I would look into the "ladder" type reinforcement steel that goes between each row of block. I would also fill cement, maybe with verticle rebar too.



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mud

05-05-2004 14:06:01




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 Re: foundation footing in reply to Jim K, 05-04-2004 19:38:16  
your county or city building inspectors office will have your answer. site specific for your area's requirements. one thing i do when i build,
i tamp my footing trench with a jitterbug. and i use rod in my footing pour. use grade stakes and make sure you got the height of your footer dead on. this is where newbies often screw up. you can do it yourself. everybody has a first time at everything. it can be your addition. just read up on it and ask a lot of questions. people will help out. go for it and don't look back. best of luck
mud

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Jack

05-23-2004 23:03:31




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 Re: Re: foundation footing in reply to mud, 05-05-2004 14:06:01  
Rebar was suggested. When you do use rebar do you pound it into the dirt before pouring the footing? Is it all vertical or is horizontal rebar used too? Lays loose or attahced how?



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Dan in Wisconsin

05-05-2004 05:25:28




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 Re: foundation footing in reply to Jim K, 05-04-2004 19:38:16  
If it were mine, I'd be forming the footings at around 8" to 10" thick and 18" to 24" wide. I don't know what your frost line is there but here it is around 48" to 60" deep. You would want to be below that line in your area what ever it is. I'm no profesional builder but I have done some of my own consruction work around the place. Maybe someone with more experience can enlighten both of us.



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paul

05-05-2004 07:32:11




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 Re: Re: foundation footing in reply to Dan in Wisconsin, 05-05-2004 05:25:28  
I'm just not sure a house foundation is a good 1st time do it yourself project, as this sounds. Lots of things can go wrong, I'd be fine with him building some outbuilding or garage, but a house if you mess up is some serious problems.

The county (or city) codes need to be followed, and that is where you go to find out what is required for your footings & foundation. You can sneak by a lot of things on a building or garage that aren't quite right, but the inspectors & insurance companies get _real_ picky about a dwelling people sleep in....

--->Paul

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L arry El

05-04-2004 20:27:11




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 Re: foundation footing in reply to Jim K, 05-04-2004 19:38:16  
Yoy probably have a county or city engineering dept. that tell you the specs on this.



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Vern-MI

05-05-2004 06:32:50




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 Re: Re: foundation footing in reply to L arry El, 05-04-2004 20:27:11  
They can also tell you if those cinder blocks must be filled with cement. Some areas require filling the blocks with cement to prevent joint seperation and failure. In many cases this make a poured wall much more economically attractive than a block wall.



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RZ(WA)

05-07-2004 10:20:54




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 Re: Re: Re: foundation footing in reply to Vern-MI, 05-05-2004 06:32:50  
Man, is that alot of work, but if the access isn't there for the concrete truck, one does what one must do. When I built the cabin, the road (read trail)was too steep and narrow for the concrete truck so I hauled in block for the foundation. What a PITA, filling all those blocks. If I were to do it again, I'd buy a mixer and pour a solid foundation. Cheaper, like you said and a whole lot faster. The upside? My forearms sure strengthened-up, felt a little like Popeye when I was through.

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