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Concrete Footing Depth

John Crockett • March 7, 2025

Tips on Concrete Foundations

Good morning. It’s not a good day to pour concrete today. Rainy and windy here in Maryland. Today I want to give you some guidance on footing depth in our area. The footing is the part of the foundation that supports the walls and ultimately the entire structure. It’s always good to get started off on the right foot when building. That starts with the footing! In Harford County, Maryland you would need the the footing to be protected from frost by 30” of earth. Cecil County, Maryland would need 32”, and our customers just to the north in Chester County, PA would need 36”. This measurement would be taken from the ground or finished grade to the bottom of excavated footing. Remember to always dig your footing bottoms level. Never sloped with the land. We will go over stepped footings in another post but if your starting a project sooner than later, please research how to step your footing when building on a sloped piece of property. And finally remember it’s a footing, not a “footer”. When I first got into concrete 30 years ago we always called them footers. That’s what my dad had always called them. It took a young engineer to kindly explain to me that there is no such thing as a footer. Best of luck!

John Crockett