Adventures of D and V: Adventures in Home Improvement: How To ...

This post is a bit off the normal topic for this blog, however in an effort to detail our?Operation: Finish Basement?project, today we are going to show you how to pour a concrete footer. **Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that we are in no way professional contractors. More like ultimate DIYers who have done a lot of research and reading about basement renovation, and a family member who is an expert on concrete.?


As you may (or may not) remember from?{THIS POST}?we have our holes dug for the new footers for the new support columns for the basement. We built frames for the new footers out of pine 1X10s and anchored them into the clay with some metal spikes and wood to make sure frame doesn't shift during the pouring process.?


Now that the holes are all ready for their concrete footers, we started Step #3 - Mixing and pouring the concrete for the new footers!?

?(Yes, we have a concrete mixer. It's on a trailer and it is very handy!)

?Begin by mixing the powder cement (we used type 1 portland cement), sand, 3/4 inch crushed line stone, and water to make the concrete. We used a 1-2-3 ratio for the concrete. (Leave a comment if you would like to know more about concrete mixing ratios)

?Once the concrete is mixed well, dump it into a wheelbarrow and now you need to get it inside. The best way for us was to go through the window...

?My job was to shovel the concrete into the shoot and then push it down to the wheelbarrow waiting below. FYI ~ Concrete is HEAVY! I couldn't even push the full wheelbarrow - good thing Daniel is strong!

?Daniel made this shoot out of a B-900 water pipe cut in half, and it works perfect!

?Shovel into the shoot, and push it down to wheelbarrow #2 waiting below.

?Next, dump the concrete into the hole

Repeat until the frame is filled to the top with concrete.

One step that I didn't get a picture of was the rebar lattice that is incased in the concrete.?

Rebar?is the steal bars that make the concrete stronger - you may have seen them when driving past a road construction project.?

?Smooth out the concrete

And then sit back and let it dry.?


If you are taking on a project like this, and would like more details about the process, please feel free to contact us with your questions.?

Source: http://adventuresofdandv.blogspot.com/2012/07/adventures-in-home-improvement-how-to.html

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