# footings and foundation walls



## fqp25 (Sep 2, 2006)

Well pouring the footing first is the proper way. Unless your pouring a monolithic (slab&Footing) is the only time you should pour everything at once.
Pour the footing & make a "key-way" in the center of the footing. Wait at least 15-20 days. Then build your forms for the foundation.

Every foundation contractors has their own time-table, but 15 days at least is good.


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## fqp25 (Sep 2, 2006)

You can make the forms out of 3/4 plywood. Use stakes every 3 feet for the footing.

Make the foundation walls using braces on the outside of the walls. And threaded rod with nuts & bolts holding the walls across form each other.


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## joasis (May 28, 2006)

The easiest way to do what you are trying is to pour the footings, with steel rebar as per your code, and pins (short rebar) centered where the foundation walls will be placed. We also use nail strapping 2 feet long or so, placed every 2 feet, both sides of the footing, in the wet concrete and sticking up to each side where the foundation forms will go. This allows you to have an anchor for the wall forms to the footing, to hold them in place at the bottom. Then you simply set the forms down, nail (or screw) them to the straps, run the form stakes on the outside of the wall forms, and place nailers across both wall forms for spread. This method allows easy stripping, and you can recycle the material elsewhere in your project. 

Generally, we pour footings and wait 1 day to roll the next step. Since you say the foundation walls will only be 17 inches tall, a few days will be fine since the weight isn't that great. You can strip the foundation walls within 8 ours of the pour, but you will need to allow them a week to cure before doing anything else. Concrete attains 75% of it's rated strength in 21 days or so. Coat the forms with a form release agent for better stripping.


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## surfsupinhawaii (Dec 30, 2005)

*Thanks*

Its always nice to ask a question and get so many professional responses and helpful advice. I think sometimes people are afraid of sounding dumb at some of the questions they may ask and end up not asking them , but I have always found that everyone really respects each other here and treats each other like intelligent human beings. Thanks for all the advice and making my project a ton easier.
thanks, Scott M.


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