Bricks, Masonry, Asphalt and Concrete - Footer and poured wall basics
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hhouse
04-08-03, 09:03 PM
I need some major advice.
I hired a guy to pour a slab on a downhill grade and 4 weeks later, he determined that he couldn't do that b/c the back wall would be 3 feet high and would collapse within a year. So, not having a lot of money to hire another contractor, I've decided to pour footers and possibly a formed wall (instead of laying block) myself. This is a 16 X 12 one story workshop on a grade that drops 3 feet in 12. I had the site excavated for the footers; the "trench" is 16 inches wide and I planned on using the earth as the form. I was planning on building wood screed forms with a "step-down" to accommodate the drop, but a neighbor thinks that since the trench is so narrow, I should pour the whole footer one depth and then put up "Simon forms" to form up the walls, which only need to be 1 to 4 feet high to create a level starting point for framing. His idea sounds like less work so I may go that route, especially since I've never laid block. If I do this, the footer will be 8 inches thick in the front and about 30 inches thick in the back. Should I just put in one horizontal layer of #3 rebar all around or should I add a second layer up higher. Secondly, how far apart should my vertical rebars be? Thirdly, I saw jmon1's question about formed walls and it sounds like he thinks that they are discouraged in some instances. Does this plan make sense for my situation?
Thanks for reading my sad story. I realize this is really concrete overkill for a wood-framed 200 square foot structure, but I want to get this project started once and for all.
I hired a guy to pour a slab on a downhill grade and 4 weeks later, he determined that he couldn't do that b/c the back wall would be 3 feet high and would collapse within a year. So, not having a lot of money to hire another contractor, I've decided to pour footers and possibly a formed wall (instead of laying block) myself. This is a 16 X 12 one story workshop on a grade that drops 3 feet in 12. I had the site excavated for the footers; the "trench" is 16 inches wide and I planned on using the earth as the form. I was planning on building wood screed forms with a "step-down" to accommodate the drop, but a neighbor thinks that since the trench is so narrow, I should pour the whole footer one depth and then put up "Simon forms" to form up the walls, which only need to be 1 to 4 feet high to create a level starting point for framing. His idea sounds like less work so I may go that route, especially since I've never laid block. If I do this, the footer will be 8 inches thick in the front and about 30 inches thick in the back. Should I just put in one horizontal layer of #3 rebar all around or should I add a second layer up higher. Secondly, how far apart should my vertical rebars be? Thirdly, I saw jmon1's question about formed walls and it sounds like he thinks that they are discouraged in some instances. Does this plan make sense for my situation?
Thanks for reading my sad story. I realize this is really concrete overkill for a wood-framed 200 square foot structure, but I want to get this project started once and for all.