We rented a Kubota backhoe for the weekend to dig the footer. Since it was raining and at afternoon rush hour, we opted for the delivery of the tractor. The rental yard was about 2 miles distant and the other times we rented the tractor we picked it up and returned it ourselves. Jim drove it at it's top road speed and Elizabeth followed with the big truck and the flashers going.

The driver of the big rig assured us it was not unusual to deliver the little Kubota with his truck.

We elected to dig the trench the proper width and depth with the backhoe so we would not have to frame the footer.

Pouring footer

Adding rebar to tie the concrete block to the footer. We wanted the rebar to pass through the holes in concrete blocks which we would be using for our foundation. We tried to calculate where the holes would be and then place the rebar at this spacing.

The building inspector told us we had to have the footer one foot below undisturbed soil. However, to complicate matters, we had to design it so when three rows of blocks were on top of it, the floors of the addition and original house would be the same height. In the end, we used framing timbers to outline the footer to establish a height to finish the poured concrete.

The building inspector pays a visit and signs off on our footer. This was one of the first visits paid us by the inspector.

Since we had rented the tractor for the weekend and would have some extra time for it, we decided to also fill some low spots in the yard where we noticed water standing following rainstorms and provided mosquito habitat. We ordered our first load of dirt - a load of Georgia topsoil.

Filling in low spots the easy way

Next: Building a Concrete Block Foundation