Inspecting Foundation Footings

Foundation problems related to soil and footing bearing capacity can be far and away the most costly home defect to remedy. They can also lead to structural problems for the rest of the house, or cause damage to plumbing or other systems. That's why good footing inspections are such an important part of the building official's duties. In this lesson, engineer Steve Skalko from the Portland Cement Association walks us through the key issues for a proper inspection of footings on the job site.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this video, you should be able to:

• Explain how to identify the important design criteria for a particular jurisdiction, using the International Residential code as a reference.
• Know how to use the code tables to determine required footing width, reinforcement, and placement depth.
• Understand how to compare the details shown in the construction plans with the practices implemented in the actual construction.
• Know the critical factors to check for code compliance in a field inspection of footing forms before concreted placement.

  Next Step

  Watch the video presentation.