How to Pour a Footing

Excavating the Footing

• 1

  Obtain the specifications for the footing from a local building contractor or municipal office which oversees construction in your area. Specifications for footings vary by geographic region and are based on the type of building. Footing specifications include width, depth and thickness of the footing.

• 2

  Excavate a trench for the footing wider than the required specifications. The trench needs to be wider than the footing so that concrete forms can be built in the trench.

• 3

  Dig the last six inches of the depth by hand. The footing must rest on undisturbed ground, and a backhoe will create an unlevel, disturbed surface at the bottom of the trench.

Building the Concrete Forms

• 4

  Nail together the plywood concrete forms from 3/4-inch CDX exterior plywood so that the footing is at the proper depth. The footing form outlines the sides of a rectangular box for the footing. The bottom of the box is the ground, and the top side is left open. The resulting rectangular shape measures the proper width and thickness.

• 5

  Pound rebar into the ground along the outer edge of the concrete forms so the weight of the concrete in the form does not twist or break the form. Rebar should be used to reinforce the footer every 48 inches along each side of the form.

• 6

  Bend 48-inch pieces of rebar into "C" shapes. Install rebar into the center of the footer form by pounding the prongs of the "C" downward into the earth, so that the back of the "C" rebar protrudes upward. The top of the rebar must be above the top edge of the footer. This rebar will become part of the footer as the concrete dries around it. The rebar will also become embedded in the foundation wall which is poured onto the footer, thus mechanically fastening the two structures to one another.

Pouring the Concrete

• 7

  Pour premixed gravel concrete mix into the footing forms.

• 8

  Level the concrete to the top of the forms with concrete finishing trowels.

• 9

  Allow the concrete to dry according to the supplier's specifications, then remove the footing's concrete forms before pouring the foundation wall.