Replies

1. 
   Mooney | Dec 03, 2002 05:25pm | #1

   One of the reasons for footers is to get below the frost line . I assume since you only have one row of blocks up,  the ditch is still open . In elevation we always plan for back fill . Where we live we dig 1 foot footers and plan on 1 foot of back fill , thus giving two feet in insulation to the bottom of the footer. If you dont cover now you are exposing the ground under the footings to freezing at those temps . Frozen ground thawing out is unstable to build on .

   Getum covered with straw - code blue !  When you do return the house will be placing  " weight" pretty quickly . From our cabin to yours ,

   Happy Holidays

   Tim Mooney

2. 
   Barncat5 | Dec 03, 2002 08:43pm | #2

   Straw is a good idea. I'm in a similar situation as you. I've just completed a "winterization" on a newly poured footing for my own project. I placed about 8" of loose straw along the sides of the footing and then covered with poly. There's now about a foot of snow covering the whole thing, and temps here in northern Vermont are around zero degrees at night. The combination of snow and straw I think should provide a good insulating blanket to keep the ground temperature from dropping below freezing. If you don't get alot of snow in your area, I'd consider a thicker covering of straw, then cover that with sheets of 2" ridgid foam insulation (you can then reuse the sheets later for foundation insulation).

   An excavation contractor in this area tells me that when he knows he needs to dig in mid-winter, he'll lay down a 6" layer of staw in the fall on the area to be excavated. Come January, he just sweeps the straw aside and digs the soft ground. So he says.....

   Good luck.