How to Set a Post Footing in Concrete

Every deck must rest on a solid base. Large wooden posts will support your deck and provide the safety you need to keep you, your family and friends safe while you enjoy the elevated platform. The weight of a wooden deck will drive the posts into the ground at different rates making it unusable and dangerous. A solid, concrete footer must be poured under every post to keep it steady. You can place your posts inside of the concrete, but this will reduce the life of your deck to around 20 years. Properly installed posts will guarantee a longer lifespan.

Post hole diggers
Scrap post (4 inches by 4 inches by 8 feet)
Concrete
Water
Wheelbarrow
Hoe
Shovel
Rebar (1/2 inch by 9 inches)
Concrete float
Concrete edger
L-shaped anchor bolt with washer and nut
Socket set
Treated wooden post (6 inches by 6 inches by 8 feet)
8d galvanized framing nails
Hammer
Work gloves
Safety glasses

Instructions

- 1
  Dig a hole with your post hole diggers. Make the hole 48 inches deep and 12 inches wide. Slam the end of a scrap of a 4-inch by 4-inch post into the soil on the bottom of the hole to compact it.
- 2
  Mix concrete and water in your wheelbarrow. Use the amounts recommended by the manufacturer. Stir the mixture to an even consistency with a hoe.
- 3
  Pour 6 inches of concrete into the bottom of the hole. Lay two pieces of rebar on top of the concrete in an X pattern.
- 4
  Add 36 inches of concrete on top of the rebar. Add another rebar X on top of the wet concrete.
- 5
  Fill the hole to the top with concrete. Smooth the top surface of the concrete with a float. Slide the down blade on your edger into the concrete on the edge of the hole. Push the edger around the perimeter to form the sides.
- 6
  Remove the nut and washer from your L anchor. Push the unthreaded side of the L into the wet concrete leaving only the threaded end exposed.
- 7
  Lay a post base onto the wet concrete so that the threaded end of the anchor is showing through the retaining hole in the middle of the base. Leave the footer alone so that it can dry for 24 hours.
- 8
  Install the washer and nut onto the anchor bolt to lock the post base in place. Snug the nut with a socket from your set to complete the installation.
- 9
  Stand the post in place on top of the base. Drive an 8d nail through each of the retaining holes in the side of the base to lock the wooden post in place.

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