How to Pour Garage Foundation & Footing Together

Ground Preparation

• The first step to pouring your footing and the foundation is clearing and leveling the area where the construction will take place. Depending on the size of your garage, you may need to use larger grading equipment to clear and level the area, but for a 24-by-30-foot garage, you would use equipment such as a skid steer loader and a variety of rakes and shovels.

Footing Preparation

• After the ground is level, you need to begin digging footing trenches around the perimeter of your garage and be sure to follow any local building codes. You should dig a 2-foot wide trench for the footing. You should also dig a 2-foot wide area on each side of the trench to allow for room to work. Usually 2-by-10-foot boards should be used to form up for the footings and stripped away once the footings are poured.

Foundation Wall Preparation

• The height of foundation wall you pour should depend on the size of structure you are building. A one-story garage typically requires an 8-inch foundation while a two-story garage requires a 10-inch foundation wall. You should also use reinforcing steel in the foundation walls to strengthen the concrete. You should also use a mechanical vibrator to remove all of the air voids from the concrete. These voids tend to weaken the strength of the concrete.

Foundation Slab

• A concrete slab is poured inside the foundation wall and footing frame. Typically, this slab is poured on top of a base rock such as sand or gravel. Reinforcing steel should also be used in constructing the foundation slab. Drainage pipes and floor heating elements should also be installed before the slab is poured. This slab ties everything together, including the foundation wall and the footing.