Articles
Strip footings and stormwater pits
Footings and stormwater structures are formed and reinforced before anyone talks about a finish. Both are buried work. Both fail if the steel is in the wrong place.
Strip footings
The trench is excavated to the line, including through rock. Timber forms box the footing. Longitudinal bars and ties go in before the concrete. The cage has to sit in the section with cover, not dropped on the bottom of the trench.
Stormwater pits and pipes
Reinforced concrete pipes are bedded in gravel. A tied cage wraps the pit or headwall. The pipes are set to grade first. Concrete locks them in after the lines are checked.
This sits with the earthworks on a subdivision or a house block. Trenches are open before driveways and slabs cover them.
With the slab
A house footing and the slab over it are one set-out. If the plumber’s penetrations are not in, the pour waits. Cutting a footing after it has gone off is a worse job than waiting a day.