How to Pour a Footer for a Concrete Block Wall
Footers are the foundation of concrete walls and are poured deep into the ground. Footers are dug out by an excavator below the frost line. They are usually twice as wide as concrete walls and equal in height to the width of the wall.
Things You'll Need:
- Excavator
- Crushed Stone
- Gravel
- Wheel Tape Measure
- Wooden Steaks
- Level
- Concrete
- Plywood
- Rebar
- Have a contractor mark where gas, electrical and telephone lines are buried underground. Breaking one of the lines can result in serious damage or even death. These contractors can be reached with one simple phone call and it won't take long to mark the lines.
- Measure the area of your footer with a wheel tape measure and mark the corners by driving wooden steaks into the ground.
- Start digging each side of your footer with the excavator. You need to dig the width of the concrete block you plan on using plus six inches past the frost line. The frost line for your area will vary, but usually four feet is deep enough. Talk with the contractors that marked your line for information about finding the frost line. There should be plenty of rental companies that have an excavator available.
- Fill the first six inches with crushed stone or gravel. Use a level to make the gravel or stone perfectly straight.
- Create wooden forms around the trench for extra support when pouring concrete walls.
- Lay rebar around the footer. Place rebar on small blocks of wood so they don't lie on the gravel.
- Mix and pour concrete into trench. Let it cure for a few days.
- Remove wooden forms and begin building the block wall on concrete footer.