[iklingenberger]

My wife and I just closed on a foreclosure and we're starting to plan all of our projects. I'm still a long way from starting landscaping but want to have a plan for everything so I can do things now to make my life easier down the road.

Right now our front steps are precast concrete. I'm planning to pull them out and do brick risers to match the house with bluestone treads. When pouring the concrete footing for the steps do I have to pin it to the foundation or can I leave it free floating? Basement of the house is concrete block walls

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... Don't tie it to the foundation,....

If yer in an area that sees frost, ya gotta get below frost level with the footer,....

 

[iklingenberger]

I know we need 48" deep here (wi) just wasn't sure when they pin it vs not

 

[jomama45]

If you have frost protection for the steps, just like the house is, we will always dowel the footing in. It's usually included in the blueprint, and often the building inspector requires it.

How old is the house? One issue you might run into, especially on newer homes, is that there's still non-virgin (backfill) under the footings from original home construction that may not be solid enough. In those cases, we often dig all the way down to the house footing.

 

[iklingenberger]

House was built in 67