Foundation Footings
House Footing
Introduction:
The most
important thing when building a home is sighting
and constructing the foundation. Whatever the type
of foundation you use they all begin the same way
with the foundation footings.
A footing is typically concrete and often
reinforced
with steel rebar. The footing is the bottom part of
the foundation that the foundation wall sets on.
It's the base that is sometimes called a "spread
footing" because it spreads the vertical loads that
are coming down from the building out to the earth
surface below.
The site surveyor, usually the builder’s excavator
sub-contractor, will lay out exactly where the
footing will be placed and outline it with paint.
The excavation contractor removes the material so
footing forms can be set up for the footing. The
size of the footing depends on the soil. If the
soil isn't
really that strong a larger footing will
be required to help spread the load out over a
larger area.
Pouring concrete directly into a trench is a common
way to create a footing for small houses that are
built on slab that do not have basements. When
there is no basement the foundation wall is very
short, usually about two feet and build with
concrete blocks. For houses that have a basement
the foundation wall is built on top of the footing.
Rebar is often installed in the footing to give it
strength and to lock the wall to the footing. The
footing size is usually two feet thick and eighteen
inches wide, depending on the size of the building
and the weight that is to be distributed to the
footing. After the form is constructed a code
office usually inspects the footing to insure that
it meets the building code requirements.
Concrete footings are usually made with 5,000 PSI
concrete and are poured in a single pour for a
continuous piece of concrete without any brakes.
This insures that the footing is strong enough to
support the structure.
Related articles:
Buying a
Cement Mixer
Concrete
Driveway Benefits
Fiber
Reinforced Concrete
Home Foundation Walls
How to
Make Stronger Concrete
How
to Seal a Concrete Driveway
Mixing Cement
Mixing Concrete and Mortar
Muriatic Acid for Cleaning Masonry
Polishing
Concrete Floors
