Without a solid footing the wall is less vulnerable to frost heave and the footing does not need to extend to the same depth as a poured concrete footing.
Footing size for concrete retaining wall.
Here are the minimum widths for concrete or masonry footings.
Discontinuous footings work fine for concrete walls which can be reinforced to take the loads.
Determine the planned wall s height and width.
Make sure that you check your building plans and measurements to determine the size of the reinforcing rebar.
If the soil is very strong the footing isn t even strictly necessary just the soil under the wall would be enough to hold the building up.
To construct a footing for a dry stacked retaining wall excavate a trench that is 5 to 7 inches deep plus 1 inch for every 8 inches of planned wall height.
The third step for your diy retaining wall is to prepare for footing.
The footing dimensions will largely be determined by the size of the wall.
The footing should be at least as thick vertically as the wall s planned width.
Step 4 lay rebar and pour concrete.
However it should always be below the seasonal frost line and that often is much deeper in northern climates.
A poured concrete footing for concrete block or brick walls should be at least twice as wide as the planned wall.
However for even the most modest block structure to have enough rigidity to bear pressure and weight it needs proper footing.
You can use a saw with an abrasive blade in order to cut the rebar to the size that you need.
Concrete blocks are a common building material for a variety of outdoor projects such as retaining walls and out buildings like garages and tool sheds.
Then mix the concrete per the instructions.
The lower the bearing capacity of the soil the wider the footing needs to be.
A typical situation where a garage stemwall abuts a main basement wall can be handled by reinforcing the short section of wall that spans the opening with two 4 bars at the top and bottom extending 3 feet into each adjoining section of wall above.
The size of the trench and diameter of the rebar depends on the purpose for the wall such.
The footing transmits the load into the soil.
Lay down the rebar to reinforce the footing.
The depth to the bottom of the base slab should be kept at a minimum of two feet.