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Construction 1
BES105

FOUNDATI
ON By: Abdulla Afeef
 Introduction
Is the base on which a building rests
Purpose
Safely transfer the load of a building
to a suitable subsoil.
Every Building has Building
Loads,
therefore
Every Building has Foundations
 Buildings are divided into two parts:
The part generally below ground
level and which extends into the
ground; known as substructure
The part above the ground level
termed as superstructure
Superstructure

Substructure
Part of the building below natural or artificial
ground level which supports the
superstructure.

Foundation
 The foundation is the lowest division of a
building.
The primary function is to support and anchor
the superstructure above and transmit its loads
safely into the earth.
The foundation serves as a critical link in the
distribution and resolution of building loads.
The foundation system must be designed to both
accommodate the form and layout of the
superstructure above and respond to varying
conditions of soil, rock and water below.
 Building regulations require all foundations
of buildings to:

Safely sustain and transmit to the ground the

combined dead and imposed loads.
Be of such a depth, or be so constructed, as
to avoid damage by swelling, shrinkage or
freezing of the subsoil.
Be capable of resisting attack by deleterious
material such as sulphates, in the subsoil.
 Foundation
Requirements
Safe against structural failure

Settlement not impairing function

(foundation must not settle in such a
way to damage the structure)
Settlement< 25mm

Technically & economically feasible

 What is Settlement?
Settlement is the gradual subsiding of a structure as the
soil beneath is foundation consolidates under loading.
(All foundations settle to some extent as the soil around and
beneath them adjusts itself to the loads of the building)
As a building is constructed, some settlement is to be
expected as the load on the foundation increases and causes
a reduction in the volume of soil voids containing air or water.
If settlement occurs at roughly the same rate from one side of
the building to the other, it is called uniform settlement.
If large amounts of differential settlement occur, in which the
various columns and loadbearing walls of the building settle
by substantially different amounts, the frame of the building
may become may become distorted, floors may slope, walls
and glass may crack, and doors and windows may refuse to
work properly.
Settlement
 Soil consolidation is usually slight and occurs rather
quickly as loads are applied on dense, granular soils such
as coarse sand and gravel.
When the foundation soil is a moist, cohesive clay, which
has a scale-like structure and a relatively large percentage
of voids, consolidation can be quite large and occurs
slowly over a longer period of time.
A properly designed and constructed foundation system
should distribute its loads so that whatever settlement
occurs is minimal or is uniformly distributed under all
portions of the structure.
This is accomplished by laying out and proportioning the
foundation supports so that they transmit an equal load
per unit area to the supporting soil or rock without
exceeding its bearing capacity.
 Foundation Loads
Dead Load
Live Load
Wind Load
Horizontal Pressures below ground
Structural Member Forces e.g. horizontal
thrusts from arches, rigid frames, domes,
vaults, or other tensile structures.
Buoyant Uplift from underground water
Earthquake by the motion of the
ground relative to the building
 Primary Factors Affecting
Foundation Choice
Type of Subsurface soil. Soil is divided into
cohesive soil and non-cohesive soil.
Ground water conditions such as pH value,
water table
Structural requirement.
For high rise building, piling is recommended.
For light weight building such as guard house,
pad footing is recommended.
 Secondary Factors Affecting
Foundation Choice
Construction methods including access & site
conditions
Environmental factors (e.g. noise, disposal of
earth)
Building Codes & Regulations
Impact on surrounding structures
Construction schedule
Construction risks
 Important Terminology
Settlement: Is the gradual subsiding of a structure
as the soil beneath the foundation consolidates under
loading.
Backfill: Materials excavated from site and if suitable
used to fill in around the walls and foundations.
Bearing capacity: Safe load per unit area that the
ground can carry.
Bearing pressure: The pressure produced on the
ground by the loads.
Made ground: Refuse, excavated rock or soil
deposited for the purpose of filling in a depression or
for raising the site above its natural level.
 Foundations
PURPOSE;
Transfer building loads to the earth
BASIC TYPES
Shallow: Transfer load at the base of
substructure
Deep: Transfer load by penetrating
through unsuitable soil to reach
competent soil or rock
 Types of Foundations
Foundations are usually made of either mass or
reinforced concrete and can be considered under
two headings:
1. S h a l l o w f o u n d a t i o n Those which
transfer the loads to subsoil at a point near to
the ground floor of the building such as strips
and rafts.
2. D e e p f o u n d a t i o n Those which transfer
the loads to a subsoil some distance below the
ground floor of the building.
 Types of Foundations
contd.
a) Shallow Foundation System (Spread Foundation)
Pad foundation
Strip foundation
Mat/Raft Foundation

b) Deep Foundation System

Pile
Pile walls
Caissons
Diaphragham wall
 SPREAD FOOTING
FOUNDATION
Also known as a footer or footing
Its an enlargement at the bottom of a
column/
bearing wall that spreads the applied
structural loads over a sufficiently large soil
area.
Each column & each bearing wall has its own
spread footing, so each structure may include
dozens of individual footings.
 The foundation consists of concrete slabs
located under each structural column and a
continuous slab under load-bearing walls.
For the spread foundation system, the
structural load is literally spread out over a
broad area under the building.
Most common type of foundation used due
to their low cost & ease of construction.
Most often used in small to medium size
structure with moderate soil condition.
 Load bearing wall

Column

Spread Footing
 Spread footings may be built in different
shapes & sizes to accommodate
individual
needs such as the following:

a) Square Spread Footings / Square

Footings
b) Rectangular Spread Footings
c) Circular Spread Footings
a) Square Spread Footings / Pad
Foundation
- support a single centrally
located column
- use concrete mix 1:2:4 and
reinforcement
- the reinforcement in both axes
are to
resist/carry tension loads.
b) Rectangular Spread Footings
- Useful when obstructions
prevent
construction of a square footing
with a
sufficiently large base area and
when
large moment loads are present.
c) Circular Spread Footings
- Are round in plan view
- Most frequently used as
foundation for
light standards, flagpoles and
power
transmission lines.
Reinforced Concrete Footings

The principal type of reinforced

concrete foundation for building are:

1. Isolated or Pad Foundation

2. Strip Foundation
3. Raft Foundation
4. Combination of 1, 2 and 3
 Isolated or Pad Foundation
Used to support and transmit the loads from
piers and columns.
The most economic plan shape is a square.
If the columns are close to the site boundary it
may be necessary to use a rectangle plan shape
of equivalent area.
The area of the pad foundation is determined by
the load of the foundation and allowable bearing
pressure on the subsoil.
The depth of the base will be governed by the
anticipated moments and shear forces.
 Strip Foundation
Consists of a continuous, longitudinal strip of
concrete designed to spread the load from uniformly
loaded walls of brick, masonry or concrete to a
sufficient area of subsoil.
Reinforced concrete strip foundations are used to
support and transmit the loads from heavy walls.
The effect of the wall on the relatively thin
foundation is to act as a point load.
Resultant ground pressure will induce tension on the
underside across the width of the strip.
Tensile reinforcement is therefore required in the
lower face of the strip.
 Raft/Mat Foundation
A foundation system in which the entire building is
placed on a large continuous footing.
It is a flat concrete slab, heavily reinforced with
steel, which carries the downward loads of the
individual columns or walls.
Raft foundations are used to spread the load from
a structure over a large area, normally the entire
area of the structure.
Raft foundations have the advantage of reducing
differential settlements as the concrete slab resists
differentia movements between loading positions.
They are often needed on soft or
loose soils with low bearing capacity
as they can spread the loads over a
larger area.
This method is particularly useful
where the column loads are heavy
and thus require large bases.
When the bearing capacity of soil is
low, which results in the need for
larger bases.
Mat Foundation often considered
to be
used when dealing with the
following
conditions:
a) The structural loads are so high or
the soil condition so poor that
spread footings would be
exceptionally large. As a general
rule of thumb, if spread footings
would cover more than 50% of the
b) The soil is very unpredictable & prone to
excessive differential settlements. The structure
continuity and flexural strength of a mat will
bridge over these irregularities.
c) The lateral loads are not uniformly distributed
through the structure and thus may cause
differential horizontal movements in spread
footings and pile caps.
The continuity of a mat will resist such
movement.
d)The uplift loads are larger than spread footings
can accommodate. The greater weight and
continuity of a mat may provide sufficient
resistance.
e) The bottom of the structure is
located below the groundwater
table, so waterproofing is an
important concern. As mats are
massive, they are much easier to
waterproof. The weight of the mat
also helps resist hydrostatic uplift
forces from the groundwater.
 Raft Foundation
Three types of reinforced concrete
raft foundation:
1. Solid slab raft
2. Beam and slab raft
3. Cellular raft
 Solid slab raft foundation
Is a solid reinforced concrete slab
generally of uniform thickness.
Cast on subsoil of poor or variable
bearing capacity, so that the loads
from walls or columns of lightly
loaded structures are spread over the
whole area of the building.
 Beam and slab raft
foundation
Foundation to support the heavier loads of
walls or columns a solid slab raft would
require considerable thickness.
To make the most economical use of
reinforced concrete, a form of beam and
slab raft is used.
The raft consists of upstands or
downstands beams that take the loads of
walls or columns and spreads the loads to
cast slab on natural subsoil.
 Cellular raft foundation
Can be used where reasonable bearing capacity subsoil
can be found only at depths where beam and slab
techniques become uneconomic.
This type of raft consist of top and bottom slabs
separated by and reinforced with vertical cross ribs in
both directions.
The construction is similar to reinforced concrete
basement except that internal walls are used to spread
the load over the raft and divide the void into cells.
Openings can be formed in the cell walls, allowing the
voids to be utilized for the housing of services, store
rooms or general accommodation.
 Blinding
A blinding layer of 50 to 75mm thick of weak
concrete or coarse sand should be placed under all
reinforced concrete foundations
The function of the blinding are to fill in any weak
pockets encountered during excavations and to
provide a true level surface from which the
reinforcement can be positioned.
If formwork is required for the foundation, binding is
laid before assembling the foundation; alternative is
to place the blinding within the formwork and to
allow this to set before positioning the
reinforcement and placing the concrete.
 Foundation Excavation and
Timbering
Before a foundation can be laid it is necessary to
excavate a trench of the required depth and width.
Small contracts excavation can be carried out by
hand.
Larger works will require more economical means
of using mechanical excavator.
Excavation may be classified as shallow, medium
or deep as follows;
Shallow: up to 1.5m deep
Medium: 1.5 3m deep
Deep: over 3m deep
 Timbering
Is a term used to cover temporary
supports to the sides of excavations.
Is also called as planking and strutting.
The sides of some excavations will need
support to:
Protect the operatives while working in
the excavation
Keep the excavation open by acting as a
retaining wall to the sides of the trench.
 The type and amount of timbering
required will depend upon the depth
and the nature of the subsoil.
Over a short period many soils may
not require any timbering, but
weather conditions, depth, type of
soil and duration of the operations
must all be taken into account.
Each excavation must be assessed
seperately.
 Suitable timber for planking are:
Scots pine
Baltic redwood
Baltic whitewood
Douglas fir
Larch
Hemlock
 The method of excavation and
timbering depends on.
The nature of the subsoil can determine the type of
plant or hand tools required and the amount of
timbering necessary.
The purpose of excavation can determine minimum
widths, minimum depths and minimum depths and the
placing of support members to give a reasonable
working space within excavation.
The presence of ground water may necessitate the
need for interlocking timbering, sump pits and pumps;
large quantities of groundwater may prompt the use of
de-watering techniques.
The position of the excavation may impose certain
restriction such as the need for a license, authority
permissions.
Non-availability of the right type of plant
for bulk excavation may mean that a
different method must be used.
The presence of a large number of services
may restrict the use of machinery to such
an extent that it becomes uneconomic.
The disposal of the excavated spoil may
restrict the choice of plant because the
load and unload cycle does not keep pace
with the machine output.
 Base Excavation

There are three methods that can be

used for excavating a large pit or
basement:
Complete excavation with sloping
sides
Complete excavation with timbered
sides
Perimeter trench method
 Excavation for basement on an open
site can be carried out by cutting the
perimeter back to the natural angle
of repose of the soil.
This method requires sufficient site
space around the intended structure
for the over-excavation.
No timbering is required.
 FOUNDATION MATERIAL
The foundation would normally
consist of one or more the following
materials :
concrete
concrete block
brick
stone
 Concrete is a mixture of cement, fine
aggregate, coarse aggregate and water.
The proportions of each material control the
strength and quality of the resultant
concrete. Continuous concrete footings and
foundation walls are the best material type.
If Concrete block is fully grouted
and reinforced, it will tend to act as
concrete. If it is not grouted or reinforced, it
will act as brick or stone.
 Some adhesive anchor products can
be used for reinforced masonry.
Reinforced masonry is not as strong
as concrete but when fully grouted is
strong enough to resist the seismic
loads of light wood frame buildings.
Hollow masonry is usually
unreinforced.
 Stone Foundation

Concrete block Foundation

Stone Foundation

Brick Foundation Concrete Foundatio

Any questions???