Footer

• Pour the footer of your basement using 3,000-psi concrete. Make the footers 24 inches wide and 12 inches deep. Install horizontal rebar in the footers. Set the rebar on 4-inch bricks or rebar chairs; this will help place the rebar closer to the center of the footers once they have dried. It will also help keep the rebar up off of the dirt---rebar should not touch the dirt; this will cause the concrete and rebar to erode over time. Before you pour, place 48- to 60-inch vertical rebar in the footers. The rebar will serve as a strengthening agent for the subsequent walls.
  Pour the concrete into the footers first, then insert the rebar, spacing them 4 feet apart. Place a 2-by-4 board in the center of the footers, and press it down into the concrete until flush with the top of the footers. Once the footers have dried, remove this board; the void will serve as a key that will receive the concrete from the walls, thereby locking the footers and the wall together.
  
  

Pouring the Walls

• Form the concrete walls using 2-by-6 lumber and 3/4-inch plywood. Make the walls 9 feet tall to allow for floor and ceiling space requirements. For example, if you want 8-foot ceiling heights, add the extra foot to allow for the electrical, duct work and plumbing on the ceiling and 6 inches of flooring. Space the wall forms 10 inches apart, and use a concrete vibrator to remove air bubbles and voids from the concrete as you pour the walls. Pour the concrete slowly, and take care not to break the forms apart. After the concrete has dried for 24 to 48 hours, remove the wood forms from the concrete.