Footers no footers

[KraemerBAC]

Hello all,

Just getting started and though I would ask around the forum for advice. I can't seenm to get any consistant answers from the people I do know. I live in southern Wisconsin and am getting ready to pour my slab. The question of the day is can I pour the slab thick and let it "float" like a driveway or do I need to sink footers.. Any advice is most certainly welcome. I look forward to getting started.

Peter

[Neil2]

Re: Footers no footers

"is can pour the slab thick and let it "float" like a driveway"

Yes.

Provided the sub base material is relatively uniform.

Something like 5 inches thick and reinforced well so that it can bridge settlement and ride out frost heaving with out cracking.

[blacknoir]

Re: Footers no footers

Agreed, if it's not attached to anything.

[wronguy]

Re: Footers no footers

I would like to know this as well, I live in Ontario and we have a frost line of 3-4 ft. I was planning on doing footers, but obviously I don't want to because of the extra digging, I would rather put it on 6inch gravel and than 1ft of concrete. This would be of great help. Thanks

[KraemerBAC]

Re: Footers no footers

Thanks for the guidance, I had planned on a good base of crushed paving base and/or gravel and sand followed by a minimum of 10-12 inches of reinforced concrete. It will not be attatched to anything..

[timo]

Re: Footers no footers

I am a bit south of you in Illinois and just got done with my foundation. The one thing I've learned is you need excellent drainage. Keeping the water level low and having the gravel dry is really going to help keep the heaving down.

I ran 4" drain tile around the perimeter of my foundation and ran it away to my neighbor's yard (That's a joke, I didn't really). I think drainage issues need to be elevated in oven foundation planning.

[KraemerBAC]

Re: Footers no footers

Timo,

Thanks for the suggestions.. Drainage may be a problem but at least there is a pretty easy fix. I say may because I live on a bluff so while the spot in my yard is a little low overall the yard is "high".

By the way, how far south. A visit may be in order

Peter

[dbhansen]

Re: Footers no footers

As someone with a deep, hand-dug foundation, I highly recommend a floating slab!

[JeffAdams]

Re: Footers no footers

Journeyman, why after the work of the foundation do you recommend slab? Is it the labor or does it function better?

[dbhansen]

Re: Footers no footers

Journeyman, why after the work of the foundation do you recommend slab? Is it the labor or does it function better?

The labor. A deep foundation is presumably more stable than a slab, but I'm not sure that the labor is worth it if you're hand-digging, at least in the northern part of the country.

Daren

[blacknoir]

Re: Footers no footers

Hand digging SUX! I rented a hydraulic auger to dig post holes 5' deep x 8" wide and with the clay around here it was not fun. If you can get away with a floating pad do it. I didn't just because I'm doing a string of pads for multiple items and butting up to all of those will be a new deck so I didn't want anything heaving or drifting on me if I can help it.

[Neil2]

Re: Footers no footers

A fairly uniform sub base is important for a slab.

Don't pick a site that is half on solid native materiel and half on loosely placed fill.

If you can drain the sub base easily then go ahead, but, for most soils except clay, I don't think this is that critical.

Use lots of re-bar. Re-bar is cheep. For a six inch slab I would use something like one layer 3/8 bars on a 5 inch grid both ways. Suspend or bridge in middle of slab thickness. Hook all ends and keep ends 2 inches back from side of form.

[KraemerBAC]

Re: Footers no footers

Finally finished and I agree hand digging is not alot of fun...Went 2 feet down and will fill with 8-10" of gravel then 4-6 inches of sand then pour the slab 8-10" we will see how the gravel and sand goes

[timo]

Re: Footers no footers

Finally finished and I agree hand digging is not alot of fun...Went 2 feet down and will fill with 8-10" of gravel then 4-6 inches of sand then pour the slab 8-10" we will see how the gravel and sand goes

8-10" of slab is huge, but good I think. Get more rebar than you think you will need, just in case. You can always use it in the hearth, too. What did you find 2 feet down up on that bluff?

Timo

[KraemerBAC]

Re: Footers no footers

sand and gravel...which by the way is not all that easy to dig through