Footers – The First Cut

After a few weeks’ delay, we are back on track with preparation of the foundation. Friday and Saturday we were able to get all the footers dug with the help of a rented Ditch Witch. This machine will dig the 24” x 12″ footers using modern building methods.

Through planning the order of the cuts, we were able to minimize the amount of hand work that will be required to fully prepare the footers to support the foundation. We had to go through a slight learning curve as we began the work. Discovering the best way to keep the lines straight, using a two-person team to help with start and stop points, keeping the string lines free of the dirt piles and assisting with raking level the start points for each dig made the work go more easily and enjoyably.

We took a video of the first cut… the cut for the entry door of the house:

Lessons learned:

1. Place the batter boards at least 8 feet out from the edge of the cut. This allows ample room for the Ditch Witch to maneuver to the end of each cut, minimizing the pickaxe work to be required later.
2. Make a practice cut on a location well clear of the foundation. This allows you to shorten the learning curve on how to line up the blades and keep the lines straight on the foundation.
3. On cuts that intersect another cut, don’t cut the first cut completely to the edge. The second cut can remove the material without the risk of caving in the sides.
4. Wherever possible, orient the Ditch Witch so that the auger is on the inside of the foundation. This will move the majority of the dirt to the inside of the foundation to use for additional fill.
5. Remember to use sunscreen on your neckline. I ended up with a sunburn there. Face, arms, hands were all fine… just the neckline got scorched.

Now that the footers are rough-cut, we are in the process of hand-cleaning the ditches and evening out the additional fill-dirt from the cleanup.