DIY Deck Footers

Dig holes for the deck’s footers using a post hole digger, making the holes cylinder-shaped and with a 1-foot diameter. The holes for the footers need to be at each corner of the deck. Make the hole so it is at least 4 inches deeper than the frost line where you live. Determine the frost line for your area by contacting a local building inspector.

Drop tubular concrete forms into the holes you dug. If the holes are not large enough for the forms, dig them larger until they accommodate the forms with room to spare.

Combine the concrete mix and water per the instructions on the concrete mix bag, using a wheelbarrow and shovel to combine and mix the concrete.

Shovel the mixture into the tubular forms until the concrete sits just above the top of the forms.

Place a board across the top of the concrete forms. Move the board from side to side as you pull it across the forms, smoothing out the concrete at the top of the forms.

Tie mason's cords to batterboards, driving the batterboards into the ground 3 feet beyond the footers and stretching the mason's cords from one footer to another along the exterior lines of the future deck.

Hang a plumb bob from where the mason cords intersect, finding the centers of the footers. Push J-bolts into the center of each footer, with about 3/4 inch of the J-bolts threads showing above the concrete.

Shovel dirt in around the gap between the concrete footers and the surrounding dirt once the footers have fully cured. Allow the cement to sit for a week to fully cure.