Footings are the start of any foundation. Footings are typically concrete that is reinforced with steel. The footings of any building project are the concrete pads that will distribute the weight of your home or building. Your footings for your home are the bottom part of the foundation. The footing in your home building project can be called the spread footing because it is spread wide. The footing will spread the vertical loads that are coming down in your building or home. Many homes are on a slab foundation which generally has a two foot footing that goes around the perimeter of the home you are building.

The footings for you building project should be laid out by your site surveyor. The footings are laid out exactly in order to give you a visual location of where your footings are going to be and where all your pins for the footings will be set. Having the footings laid out by your site surveyor is also going to give you a visual outline of which way the forms are running and what part of the wall that particular pen is pointing to. All this will make it easier to place your footings when the time comes.

The next phase in creating the footings for your building project is to hire an excavation contractor to dig the footings and the rest of the foundation. How deep the excavator digs depends largely on your soil. If you have weaker soil your footings will need to be bigger in order to help spread the load better. The minimum requirement for footings is ten inches thick.

The most common way to build a footing is to pour concrete directly into trench. The footing below grade does not need to be formed and can be poured directly into the trench. Re-bar is usually installed into the footing forms before the pouring of concrete to add strength for the concrete.

When your footing cavities are installed you will need to have an inspection done on the footings. The inspection is done to make sure that the footings were installed according to the city requirements. The inspector will make sure that your footings were built for the correct zoning purposes and that the rebar has been installed properly so that there are no foundation problems later on. Having your footings installed properly will help distribute the weight of the house or building evenly and not have the ground shifting beneath your home or building.

Other things you should know about footings include the following. The size of the footings for your building project will also depend on where you live. In colder climates your home or building will have a different size footing then in warmer climates. Laying your footings lower in the colder climates will save you the headaches of foundations that crack or move. You should also apply a sealer to your footings to prevent moisture forming and later mold. You also do not need to pour your footings and the foundation in one day. Have a design that is easily done by multiple pouring to make it easier on the workers.