How to Set Building Blocks in Wet Concrete Footing

Mark the location of the wall on the ground with spray paint. Call your local utilities to make sure that there are no buried power lines or underground pipes where you plan to dig.

Measure the width of the blocks you are building with. Dig a trench for the footing that is twice as deep as the wall is thick or just slightly deeper than the frost line, whichever of the two measurements is greater. Make it twice as wide as the wall plus 6 inches, to allow for the thickness of the form you will use to pour the footing.

Drive a stake into the bottom of the trench that you dug, on the right side, at one end of the trench. Drive another stake into the left side at the end. Drive another pair of stakes into the bottom a distance equal to the length of 10 blocks away from the end of the trench. Drive a third pair in between these two. The stakes must be tall enough to reach the top of the trench.

Attach enough two-by-fours to the stakes with screws on the right side to make a wooden wall on that side of the trench. Do the same on the left side. These are the sidewalls for the footing. Cut pieces short enough to make ends for these walls, and screw them to the pairs of stakes on the ends.

Level the form by checking it with a carpenter’s level; then either hammer the stakes in further on one end or pull them out more on the other. Check the level end to end and side to side.

Multiply the length, width and depth of the inside of the form. This is the volume of concrete that you need for the footing. Mix this much concrete according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Pour the concrete into the footing, and bring it up to the very top of the form. Because you leveled the form, the footing will also be level.

Mix a small batch of mortar according to its manufacturer’s instructions, in the wheelbarrow. Use the hoe to stir it.

Set a block into the wet concrete at the end of the form. Center it from side to side. Its own weight will cause it to settle a little into the concrete. Check that it is sitting flat with the level. To adjust its level, tap gently on it with the hammer, to push it further into the concrete.

Set the next block 3/8 inch away from the first. Fill the gap between them with mortar, using the trowel. Set all 10 blocks into the concrete before it hardens, checking the level as you go.

Make additional forms and set blocks in them in the same fashion. Now that you have an idea of how long the process is taking you, you will know how long you can afford to build future forms without making them so long that the concrete dries before you can set the blocks.