Green4310TLB
New member
I had a big old backhoe a few years ago (before I got the compact) and did the footer for my house. Works best if the site is already level, but you can use a transit to figure out how deep you need to be in each corner. Put a steel rod in the ground at the exact corner of the wall and use spray paint to paint over the string. (be sure you have already measured corner to corner and have the wall line square and straight.) This gives you a straight line to reference when digging. Remove the string and steel rod. If your block is 10", dig the trench 4-6" wider then the line to the outside. (Assuming you have a 24" bucket.) It does not need to be exact, but if you get off your line much your going to be dumping a lot of conrete and money in when you don't need to. Also, don't forget to ask around, you might find someone (a buddy or coworker) who has done this and can get you started. Also in PA we go at least 36" deep, sometimes deeper to get below the frost line. Sounds like you would need to as well.