does wall need to be centered on footing?

[Anonymous]

I am pouring a 36 inch wide/12 inch deep footing for a six foot concrete block wall (this is a free standing wall-not for foundation or retaining).

I want to maximize the amount of backyard I have. Does the wall need to be in the center of the footing? Or can it be off center? If so, what is the maximum distance it can be off center?

Also, should the footing extend past the end of the wall? By how much?

Thanks for any help. I'm hoping to move forward on this project by Friday.

[Rich]

Typically the wall should be centered to prevent turnover - an engineer would have to design the footing for an overturning moment. For a wall that is 12" wide the footing should overhang 6" on each side... in other words half the thickness of the wall so overall width of the footing is twice that of the wall. Depth should be 8" minimum so 12" deep is fine. Make sure there is rebar from the footing into the brick wall - typically it gets placed between 2 wythes of brick and then filled with mortar / grout.