Footings for garden wall

[Rob.j]

I've just had some footings laid for a 4ft high double skinned garden wall. The bricky who's doing the job doesn't seem to have gone deep enough as the top of footings are almost level with the surrounding ground in places.
Apart from the fact that the footings may be visible after the walls finished does it really matter? I've read that there should be around two courses of bricks below ground level but why is this important?

 

[David James]

Normally a couple of courses to set out the bond and show face brickwork as you come out of the ground. He may or may not have gone deep enough and trench filled the footing, the depth depends on ground conditions.

 

[^woody^]

You are missing the point. The purpose of footings is to put the load on hard ground, so it's the depth that matters.

A side issue is that the material used is not seen so can be ugly or a different material to the wall that is seen.

So whether you can see footings is irrelevant to the fact that you can see them.

What really matters is that anything above ground should be "face work" and look nice and neat.

 

[Rob.j]

Thank you both for your input. On closer inspection the footings aren't wide enough either!

 

[^woody^]

Thank you both for your input. On closer inspection the footings aren't wide enough either!

Do you mean they are narrower than the wall above?

 

[Rob.j]

The pillars are going to be 2 bricks x 2 bricks.

 

[^woody^]

The wall fits on, they are OK

 

[Rob.j]

aren't the footings supposed to be 100mm wider either side of the wall though?

 

[stuart45]

What thickness is the wall going to be? Are you having 18inch piers at the ends?

 

[Rob.j]

It's a double skin wall and yes the piers are 18"

 

[stuart45]

The main thing is that has he gone down deep enough to solid ground? Most of the wall will be well onto the concrete, so it's only the piers that are close to the edge. I have worked on plenty of house footings in the past that were close to the edge, although it's not technecially correct.

 

[London Mike 49]

This is a good guide
http://www.pavingexpert.com/featur03.htm

Mike

 

[^woody^]

aren't the footings supposed to be 100mm wider either side of the wall though?

No, that's only in the "Foundations for Beginers Guide". Deep stip foundations can be as narrow as the wall sitting on them. And this is a garden wall.

 

[noseall]

No, that's only in the "Foundations for Beginers Guide". Deep stip foundations can be as narrow as the wall sitting on them. And this is a garden wall.

Why do BCO's and designers always insist on a 100 - 150mm 'toe' then?

 

[^woody^]

Why do BCO's and designers always insist on a 100 - 150mm 'toe' then?

Because they fail to read the next book in the series "Foundations for non-beginners".

Edge shear only really applies to thin strip foundations, not deep strips. And there needs to be a massive load on the very edge for shear to occur in deep strips in any case, and a garden wall or even a house wall wont cause anywhere near the concentrated load required on the very edge of the strip.