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emmi_becker

possible footing problem

8 years ago
Our surveyor staked our house wrong and one wall was 2 feet short. My mason didn’t catch it and poured footings. When they went to put the block wall up, their line went on an angle off the footing which then made them realize the walls were off. The one wall got a whole new footing but the angled wall got a footing added on since part of the footing was ok. (See pic- snapped line is where the new block is going on both “old” and new concrete). My dad was a mason 40 years ago and said it’s a big no-no to do that and they should have poured a whole new footing. The wall is all the way up now and the garage stoop will be behind it. My dad is concerned about the strength of the wall. I’m afraid to open a can of worms and cause issues. Is this really going to be a problem?

Comments (11)

  • PRO
    8 years ago

    This should have been caught at that time when footings were formed and installed because you pull your line from the stakes and you drop your dimensions down bellow and put the stakes. 2' is being way off not to notice.

    That being said it's not a preferred way of doing this, you can sister another footing next to if it's done the right way, and the additional footing that was added by the look of it in that picture, that footing is not looking too good, if they just widened the trench and mixed their own concrete and just dumped it there, that might be an issue down the road.

    In General looking at the width of some of the footings some of them look so wide, what was there a reason for that? It looks like so much wasted concrete and money unless there is a reason behind that.

    Good luck


  • 8 years ago
    The footings were poured at 24” wide so that there could be 6” on both sides of the block. I’m guessing that’s why it looks so wide. What would you do at this point? My dad suggested more rebar in that wall to strengthen it. I’m tempted to show the inspector but what happens if the whole footing needs to be redone? Am I getting charged for that? We are general contracting ourselves so I’m trying to not cause major issues since the masons been helping us a lot and saving us a lot of money in other ways.
  • 8 years ago

    As GN notes above, widening the footing with some ready-mix whipped up on the spot is not an acceptable fix.

    Adding rebar to the walls will not strengthen the footings.

    I would have excavated to undisturbed soil and had another yard or two brought in of the specified strength. In a similar situation, I've met ready-mix trucks at another site, had them pour into my lined utility trailer what was needed and brought it over to my site.

  • 8 years ago

    I'd also get out there with your 6' level. that block wall in the back of your photo that is turned towards the "front" of the photo looks wonky.

  • 8 years ago

    Is the misaligned footing in question at the garage door? If so, why are there vertical bars in it? Were horizontal dowels drilled into the misaligned footing before the additional concrete was poured? Is there rebar in the old and new footings? What is the nature of the undisturbed soil?

  • PRO
    8 years ago

    Take a lot of pictures and double check everything.

  • 8 years ago
    The garage is being built behind it but up a level. There is no horizontal bar to connect the two footings. There is rebar in vertically.
  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Why is the block at my yellow line so off?

  • PRO
    8 years ago

    Camera paralax? Every vertical plane appears out of plumb...trees too!

    Camera operator error? :-)

  • PRO
    8 years ago

    My guess is because those blocks are not setting on top of each other, they are stepping away from the camera.