How to Pour Garage Footings

Layout the footer by placing four 24-inch rebars---one for each corner---into the ground. Place nylon string around the rebars to close in the square layout of the building. Place a framing square into the corners to make sure the layout is square, and adjust the angles if necessary. Using orange marking paint, trace the layout onto the ground and remove the rebars and string.

Dig the footer 16 inches deep and 16 inches wide using a pick and shovel. Follow the orange paint lines that represent the walls of the garage. Use your 4-foot level to check the grade of the bottom of the footers so that it remains level.

Place a 1/2-inch rebar, 2 sticks wide, around the perimeter of the footer. Place rebar chairs beneath the rebar so that the rebar is off of the bottom of the footer by 2 to 4 inches. Cut 16-inch rebar crossbars and tie them across the horizontal rebar in the footer, spacing them 24 inches apart. Use tie wire, found at any hardware store, to tie the rebar together.

Drive one 24-inch rebar into one corner of the footer so that it is 12 inches off of the bottom of the footer. Place another vertical rebar 48 inches along the center of the footer and level it with the previous rebar using the 4-foot level. Don't rely on a 12-inch measurement off of the bottom as you did on the first rebar. Level all rebars, one after the other. Mark the tops of these rebars with orange marking paint. Pour your concrete onto the top of these markers.

Pour concrete into the footer and rake the concrete around it so that it rises to the top of the rebar with the orange marks. The concrete will self-level as you pour it into the footer ditch. However, make sure that it does not rise above the rebar heights. Smooth out the concrete with a concrete trowel, and allow the concrete to dry for 24 hours before building on top of the footer.