For a long fence line an auger at the end of a bobcat or PTO tractor is a great investment as it will dig the holes fast and accurately. If you live in a warm climate, like South Florida, where frost rarely ever occurs, you may be allowed to place your footings on grade, but in very cold regions, like Minnesota and Canada, you will need to dig down 96 inches or more. This resulted frost heave can be detrimental to footings and foundations. The depth you are required to set your frost footings will vary from region to region across the country. A handheld auger is usually the best option as they are cheaper to rent and easier to work with and maneuver. When water changes from liquid to solid, it expands 9 in volume. Here in Los Angeles where the ground doesn’t freeze, the irrigation and sprinkler pipes are not buried very deep, so you need to be extra careful when digging around them.Ī shovel and post hole digger are all that is needed to dig a deep hole, but if you’ve got large rocks or hard pack in your area then a long pry bar is also helpful.Īn auger is the fastest way to dig holes and can save you a lot of time and money even with the cost of renting. In a cold climate, you must check local regulations to ensure that your deck footings are placed below the frost line. As the moister in the earth around, and even under, the shallow footing expands as it freezes each freeze-thaw cycle, it would slowly push the house up out of. Tips for DiggingĪnytime you are digging, it’s best to know the frost line as you will know how deep the water pipes are so you can avoid them. Check your frost line by zip code or address using this map from the National Weather Service.Īs we mentioned before, make sure you check with your local building codes before you start digging. If the map isn’t accurate enough for you. We'd prefer one of the cheaper options, especially since the stairs have only moved an inch over the past 10 years.The maximum frost line depth is 100-inches as seen near the tip of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Alaska, all the way to zero inches in Florida, southern Arizona, and southern California. One concrete company had the fix that I know is best, but was also much more labor intensive and much more expensive than the others: Remove the stairs from the deck with a crew of guys lifting it, and put in 42" footers to the frostline (we're in Minnesota) and then reattach the stairs, which would then rest on the footings. The figure below illustrates the key factors used in FPSF insulation placement and R-value. If the footing is not placed this deep, it will heave in winter as the. ![]() Soft areas including fill must be excavated until suitable bearing soil is. They range from cheap fixes (jacking up the stairs a few inches, digging below them, filling with gravel and then putting new, stronger concrete blocks on top of the gravel to rest the stairs on) to pouring a slab to support the stairs and serve as the landing, to jacking up the stairs and digging as far down as they can with the stairs on top, and putting in 12" concrete footings in to support each side of the stairs. In soils with bearing capacity greater than about 4,000 psf, I suggest excavating next to the footing and under it, and placing compacted large gravel into the. The minimum footing depth for all other counties is 16 inches. Twenty-four inches (24) is the designated frost protection depth for Daviess County. Footing trench bottoms shall be level and a minimum of 18 below grade (frost depth). We're having some other concrete slabs done in the yard and had a few concrete companies give us their recommendations and estimates on how to fix this. ![]() Well now the bottom of the stairs are slanted (about an inch too low on one side). 4 bars in the middle third of the footing depth shall be permitted as an alternative to placement at the footing top and bottom. In the absence of a determination by an engineer competent in soil mechanics, the minimum allowable footing depth in feet due to freezing is five feet in Zone I. We have a deck that was built about 10 years ago, and although it passed code inspections, the builder just put the bottom of the deck stairs on concrete pavers, on the surface of the ground, to support it.
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