Stepped footings

[Jim Baird]

On the phone he seemed to get it.

This is why we need inspectors.

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[Marc]

Maybe I'm in the midst of a senior moment but what's the problem? I don't see many of these stepped footings.

Marc

[Jim Baird]

Stepped levels must bear minimum 8" on top of level below...so that bulkheads appear to "float" in the air. If they are tall enough that rebar turns down and joins that of the next level.

[David Meiland]

So, they're not forming the concrete at all, except where the steps are? Obviously they're going to need to move those pieces of plywood out over the level below, and somehow support them there so they don't blow out. I'd like to see photos if they actually do that.

[Jim Baird]

These are typical step bulkheads just put in the wrong position. One tall one will take more plywood and turned down rebar.

[Leighton Jantz]

Here in Calgary I've only built footings with forms ( 2x6) for the sides, is that common to trench and use the dirt as the form for the cement? Or are they just not completed?

[kurt]

That's gnarly ass nasty footing work. I wouldn't be surprised if, in the mind of the cretin doing the work, said cretin thinks it's ready for concrete.

[John Kogel]

I am trying to picture how they get the top level with no form boards. That kind of work disappeared here in about the 1940's.

[Marc]

I am trying to picture how they get the top level with no form boards. That kind of work disappeared here in about the 1940's.

When I framed houses in Atlanta, it was common to just pour the requisite width and thickness of concrete, wait for it to harden then form-up for the foundation walls.

The footing didn't need a smooth top surface.

A footing that was formed up nicely was exquisite..and a waste of time.

Marc

[John Kogel]

I am trying to picture how they get the top level with no form boards. That kind of work disappeared here in about the 1940's.

When I framed houses in Atlanta, it was common to just pour the requisite width and thickness of concrete, wait for it to harden then form-up for the foundation walls.

The footing didn't need a smooth top surface.

A footing that was formed up nicely was exquisite..and a waste of time.

Marc

Not a waste if you plan to lay perimeter drainage around those footings. Level footings make the job easier. You can calculate how much concrete to order.

[Jim Baird]

The ditch is cut into such short pieces the bulkhead tops make grade. Otherwise most around here shoot in some little grade stakes at intervals that are pulled up post-pour.

[David Meiland]

The soil here doesn't really support clean enough cuts to just pour in a ditch. By the time you finished jumping in and out to do the rebar, you'd have knocked the edges off, and as pointed out above, installing the drainage would require more digging around the new concrete. Forming footings does not take long and you can reuse almost all of the lumber. We generally stack the wall forms on top of the footing forms and pour the whole thing at once. We are often using a pump, so pouring once is a big advantage.

That said, there is a certain appeal to just cutting an outline and filling it with concrete. I assume that in Jim's area they are stacking block for the walls, not pouring concrete.