Excavation and footings for brickwork: why the groundwork matters

The best brickwork in the world is only as good as what it sits on. Before the first brick goes down, the ground has to be dug out and a footing poured to carry the wall. Get it wrong and the wall cracks, leans or worse. Get it right and you never think about it again.

Why footings matter so much

A footing spreads the weight of the wall onto the ground and ties it together so it moves as one. Skimp on it and the wall has nothing solid to stand on, which is where most cracking and leaning starts. This is the cheapest part of the job to do properly and the most expensive to fix later.

Melbourne soil is the catch

A lot of Melbourne sits on reactive clay. Clay swells when it is wet and shrinks when it is dry, so the ground itself moves with the seasons. That movement is exactly what a properly designed and reinforced footing is built to ride out. It is why a footing that would do in stable ground is not enough here, and why the engineer's details are not optional.

What the groundwork involves

• Set out. Marking the wall accurately so the footing lands where it needs to.
• Excavation. Digging to the depth and width the engineer specifies, not just a shallow trench.
• Drainage. Ag line and fall so water is taken away from the wall rather than building up behind or beneath it.
• Steel and concrete. Reinforcement placed correctly and the right concrete, so the footing has the strength the design assumes.

What moves the cost

• Soil type and how deep the footing has to go
• Length and load of the wall above
• Access for an excavator versus digging by hand
• Spoil removal and any rock or services in the ground

The groundwork done right

We set out and dig to the engineer's details, get the drainage and steel right, and pour a footing that will hold the wall through wet winters and dry summers. It is the part you never see, and the part that decides whether the brickwork lasts.

Tell us the wall you are planning and your suburb, and we will sort the groundwork from the bottom up.