# footing depth



## mason22 (Mar 25, 2008)

hey guys i live in connecticut i will be building a 130 ft 3 foot high stone wall i was wondering how deep my footing should be with concrete and should i block the wall up wthen venner over it tks guys
kyle


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## concretemasonry (Dec 1, 2006)

If it is a block retaining wall (block & mortar with reinforcing) with a brick veneer, just contact a local municipality and find out what the frost depth for the bottom of the footing is for the area. - there is a big difference between Saybrooke and Danbury or Hartford.

With only 3' high you should not have to get a permit unless there is a local ordinance

If it is a segmental concrete block retaining wall (SRW), a concrete footing is not allowed and you set the block (without any mortar or rebar) on a compacted base about 12" deep. - Keep this in mind if someone proposes it as an alternate. This is by far the most common method of building walls up to 45 feet high. - CT is one of the few areas that prefers brick/block over SRWs.


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## mason22 (Mar 25, 2008)

its not a retainin gwall its just a free standing stone wall so your saying use no mortar at all?


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## concretemasonry (Dec 1, 2006)

For a free-standing wall, you will have to use mortar and a footing.

For a SRW retaing wall, you do not use a footing and mortar. It all has to do with the difference between a flexible wall and a rigid wall and the "batter" built into the face of an SRW wall. - SRWs are more for landscaping.


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## mason22 (Mar 25, 2008)

o ya your talking about like techno block style in stone dust right? but on the wall im doing do you think it would be cheaper to build it hollow on fotting and fill it in the middle with junk and mud versus blockinging the whole thing?


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## concretemasonry (Dec 1, 2006)

Techno block is probably a knock-off of one of the internationally available units. If is is set on "stone dust" or compacted base, it is a segmental retaining wall (SRW).

You should have something to anchor the wall to the footing and some vertical steel (at least at the ends) for strength.

To protect yourself, go as deep as code requires even if you don't have to get a permit. If it is a real veneer you need to use wall ties. If it is just an adhered veneer, then you build the wall and stick it on.

Since you are a contractor, you should be able to figure out the best way to do it.


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## CJKarl (Nov 21, 2006)

Where are you in CT?
Here is a double sided snapped face wall. It's dry laid with mortar slushed into the center. The cap is laid in mortar for duribility. (kids, pets climbing on the wall) The footing is about 12" of compacted 3/4" stone. That's about all I ever do on a wall like this. Never had a problem in over 25 years.

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/kkaufmann1/03-22-08_1023.jpg
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/kkaufmann1/03-21-08_1817.jpg


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## wesmartyn (Apr 8, 2007)

If you wet lay, it would be a good idea to add control joints.


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## Tommy C (Jul 11, 2005)

CJKarl,

When you say "dry laid", you mean that you lay the stone in a bead of mortar toward the back of the stone, right? So that it's not visible at the face of the wall?


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## CJKarl (Nov 21, 2006)

Tommy C said:


> CJKarl,
> 
> When you say "dry laid", you mean that you lay the stone in a bead of mortar toward the back of the stone, right? So that it's not visible at the face of the wall?


Correct. I just slush the middle to lock it all together. It would stay up for a couple hundred years without the mortar though.


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## CJKarl (Nov 21, 2006)

If you notice (crappy phone picture) the end of the wall, I lay about a 2" in 48" batter. As the wall settles it only gets stronger.


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## Tommy C (Jul 11, 2005)

CJKarl, the footing's just 12" deep, with crushed stone?


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## CJKarl (Nov 21, 2006)

Yes, it's dry laid. It can come and go a little with the frost. The wall is slightly flexible. I'll show you 200 year old walls around here stacked on dirt. Still look pretty good.


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## Duff (Apr 4, 2006)

CJKarl, Three generations from now will be admiring that wall just as it is. Nice job.


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## Tommy C (Jul 11, 2005)

CJKarl, how do you lay your first course of stone on the compacted gravel? Just set it there without mortar?


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## CJKarl (Nov 21, 2006)

Tommy C said:


> CJKarl, how do you lay your first course of stone on the compacted gravel? Just set it there without mortar?


Yup. just grind the stone back and forth to get it bedded securely.


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## Tom F. (Sep 3, 2007)

Pardon my ignorance, but is that real stone, or manufactured? Either way it is sharp.

Tom


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## CJKarl (Nov 21, 2006)

Tom F. said:


> Pardon my ignorance, but is that real stone, or manufactured? Either way it is sharp.
> 
> Tom



Oh, it's real...and thank you.


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