How to Build Over Existing Patio Footings

Reusing Patio Footings

• 1

  Dig away several inches of turf and soil from around your patio footings using a garden spade. Remove any existing footing brackets with a socket and driver. Look for cracks and crumbling concrete, which are signs that the footing is no longer structurally sound.

• 2

  Contact your local building inspector's office to schedule an inspection if you think your footing can be reused. Local communities have different regulations for footings, including requirements for frost footings in regions where ground freeze is common.

• 3

  Install a new steel footing bracket using galvanized masonry bolts and a socket driver. The bracket will allow you to reuse a footing that passes inspection to support vertical posts that are part of your new construction. Select a bracket that has the right dimensions for the post you plan to install.

Removing Patio Footings

• 4

  Dig away the sod and soil around footings that can't be reused or are in the wrong locations for your new construction. Dig 1 foot around the footing, and about 1 foot deep, to expose as much of the top portion of the footing as possible. Remove any brackets that are attached to the footing using a socket driver.

• 5

  Break apart the concrete footing with a demolition hammer by placing the hammer's chisel tip against the concrete surface and running the hammer for several seconds.

• 6

  Continue to alternate between breaking up and removing concrete pieces until all that remains of the footing is at least 1 foot below grade, or the level of the surrounding ground in the area.

• 7

  Replace the soil and sod around the footing's old location. Insert new soil if the footing was large enough to leave a depression when filled in with the soil you removed.

• 8

  Continue your construction project by digging new footings elsewhere or pouring a cement foundation over the old footing's location.