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History of Foundation & Footing

It is not the beauty of a building you should look at; it is the construction of the foundation
that will stand the test of time.
In prehistoric times, the ancestors of human race used to live in caves, so there was
no need for building house and make it to stand above ground. Then came the Ice Age, and
the need of immigrating to warmer places arise. By then, they had learned to mould the
stones and rocks to their will. So they built houses by cutting stones and leaves & branches
from trees. Though it provided them enough shelter from rains and storms above, the
problem was with the base. Without strong hold in the ground, a house cant be safe against
storms and natural disasters. And without a foundation, a home were to sink into the soil. To
avoid this, the home would be elevated using pad stones to avoid sinking. This would put the
weight not on the ground, but into the rocks, preventing the home from sinking.

Homes were also built with post-in-ground construction, also known as earthfast
construction. Post-in-ground construction drives wooden posts into the ground that bear the
weight of the structure. Excavations in Maine, combined with re-analysis of earlier
archaeological data has produced significant evidence for widespread earthfast building in
this region during seventeenth century.

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Detail from John Redknap's 1705 plan of Casco Bay Fort, better known as Fort New Casco.

Post-in-ground structures were simple but were not anchored well compared to today. The
structures could only be anchored as far down as a person could dig. This created a shallow
foundation that was trouble for early homebuilders. It was still a handy form of construction
for those who needed a shelter fast. It could even serve as a temporary structure for settlers
while a sturdier structure was built. There are still examples of temporary earthfast
structures all over America. While they may have been temporary, some stand even today,
though they still stand susceptible to soil movement.
As technology advanced, so too did foundations. The use of stone foundations
expanded on pad stone theory and used a range of stones to help elevate and support a
home. Building a foundation required a lot of stones to create a thick layer beneath a
structure. The stones were densely packed to provide the greatest amount of support. To gain
the largest amount of density, builders would use rubble trench foundations. Rubble trenches
pack pebbles and rocks tightly within a ditch. Instead of applying a thorough layer, a rubble
trench is hollow in the middle. This puts all the weight on the outer level of the structure.
Water flow would sometimes plague rubble trenches and stone foundations. If water flow
was too much, it could even sink a home into the ground. To avoid this, mortar would be used
to seal the stone. Primitive forms of drainage would also send any groundwater away from
the building.
Later, builders were able to use more malleable materials such as wood. One
foundation that resulted from this was poteaux-sur-sol, which translates as post on a sill.
Similar to standard post-in-ground techniques, poteaux-sur-sol would use wooden posts. The
homes frame would then hang off of the posts. Instead of going into the ground, the poteaux-
sur-sol rested on top of a sill. The sill would connect to the foundation, acting as a support
frame. Also, the sill provided another layer of security between the home and the foundation.
When the ground would shift, the sill would bear the brunt of any damage caused. This places
all of the weight on something other than the Earth. The sill could still fracture and break,
while deep foundation methods could make your structure more secure.

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 As a residential foundation, concrete slabs really took off during the building boom
that followed World War II. With war veterans returning to their families (or starting families
of their own) in communities across the country, the pressure was on to complete houses
quickly. Builders discovered that it was cheaper and faster to pour a concrete slab foundation
than to frame a floor with posts, beams, joists and sheathing.

Some slabs were poured inside short masonry perimeter walls (stem walls) that supported
the buildings wood-framed walls. Other slabs were formed with a thickened perimeter that
could act like a footing, eliminating the need for stem walls. The latter type of slab is often
referred to as a monolithic slab, because its usually completed in a single continuous pour.

Footing: Early Uses and Practices

Since this seminar report is about a particular type of footing, it is necessary to delve
into the background history. The use of footing in foundation level is not very old. During late
19th century this practice evolved in England. In 1875, the Public Health Act was introduced.
It required urban authorities to make byelaws for new streets, to ensure structural stability
of houses and prevent fires, and to provide for the drainage of buildings and the provision of
air space around buildings. Three years later the Building Act of 1878 provided more detail

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with regard to house foundations and wall types. The Local Government Board, itself
established in 1871, issued the first Model Bye-laws in 1877/78 ('by' or 'bye' in Old Danish
means local). With regard to foundations, the bye-laws stated that walls should have stepped
footings (twice the width of the wall) and implied that concrete (9" thick - 225mm) should be
placed under the footings unless the sub-soil be gravel or rock ('solid ground'). Text books of
the time suggested that Portland cement made the best concrete although hydraulic lime was
the next best thing. Common lime (hydrated lime) was seen as a much inferior product. A mix
of cement: sand: stone approximately of 1:1:4 or 1:1.5:5 was recommended. It is not clear
how many local authorities adopted these bye-laws outside London; many produced their
own - often less onerous1 than the Model ones.
The drawing below shows a section of a proposed house (Bristol 1898). It can be seen the
main walls have brick footings with concrete below.

The London County Council was created in 1889, and sponsored the London Building Act of
1894 which amended the rules relating to foundations and the thickness of external and party
walls. This seems like a backward step - they no longer mention concrete footings, instead
relying just on brick ones. A writer at the time noted, "The bye-law on the whole is a wise one,
as concrete is so easily scamped2, but there are many cases in which concrete alone would be
more economical and more stable."
Part of the requirements for external walls and footings from The London Building Act 1984
is shown below. By today's standards the foundations seem very shallow; in fact many text
books from the time suggest that foundations should never be less than 12 inches (300mm)

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deep and often much more. These standards were generally higher than those adopted by
provincial towns and cities.

1. Onerous - (of a task or responsibility) involving a great deal of effort, trouble, or difficulty.
2. Scamp - slip away (Mid-18th century usage)

Many local authorities were slow in adopting Model Bye-laws; even where they did, building
control was fairly lax. This meant that the nature and quality of foundations varied
considerably. The graphics below show typical foundations at the end of the 1800s. The
depths varied according to circumstances but generally they were shallower than their
modern counterparts.

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The drawing below dates from 1903 and shows a section through a planned house. The
foundations look quite shallow (and there are no brick footings). Whether or not this was just
a drawing convention of the time its can be determined now; presumably the depth of the
actual foundation would depend on specific circumstances.

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Reinforced foundations were not unknown. G Lister Sutcliffe states, "..frequently the metal is
in the form of steel rails....or twisted wires... embedded in the concrete. A stronger
foundation can be obtained in less depth than when concrete alone is used".

Between the Wars

During the 1920s and 30s foundations remained much the same. Text books from the 1930s
suggest that in clay soils foundations should be 3 feet deep (900mm) - guidance in fact not
much different from today. London Building Acts and Model Bye-laws introduced a number
of minor amendments (see below). The examples below were suitable for houses with
foundations in firm clay or coarse sand.

Though the 1939 bye-laws still permitted brick footings and also mentioned the option of
rafts and piles.
The foundation below was built in the early 1930s. It's about 500mm wide, 200mm thick and
probably 400mm, or so, deep.

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Post 1945
In the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s most new houses were built with strip
foundations. Raft foundations were also popular, particularly under system-built properties
or over areas of fill. A typical raft comprised a concrete slab 6" to 9" thick (150mm to 225mm),
suitably reinforced. A few foundations were piled - short bored piling systems became
common during the early 1960s. The piles were typically 6' to 12' long (1.8 to 3.6m), not
normally reinforced but with a reinforced ground beam over the top, cast on some form of
compressible material (ash or clinker).
The Model Bylaws were replaced by National Building Regulations in 1965. These Regulations
were applied generally throughout England and Wales, with the exception of the Inner
London Boroughs (the area of the former London County Council) where the London Building
Acts continued to prevail. Various amendments and revisions to these Building Regulations
were issued increasing the scope and areas covered by Building Regulations. This continued
until the Building Act 1984 finally consolidated Building Regulations under one piece of
legislation. This resulted in the introduction of the Building Regulations 1985 that came into
operation in November 1985.
The Building Regulations contain 'deemed to satisfy' provisions for strip foundations. For
modest loads and on certain types of ground acceptable strip foundation widths are given -
see the Building Regulation section for the table itself. Outside these boundaries, for example
a 4 storey building on soft clay, the foundation has to be specifically designed.

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Raft foundations and piled foundations do not have any 'deemed to satisfy provisions' and
always need to be designed. Today, rafts are comparatively rare except in former mining
areas. Piling has become very common for four main reasons; it's much cheaper than it used
to be, smaller, lighter piling rigs are now available, shoring traditional trenches is expensive,
and brownfield sites are often not suitable for strip foundations.

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What is footing? What is foundation?
As per IS 6403:1981,
"Footing" is defined as a foundation unit constructed in brick work, masonry or concrete
under the base of a wall or a column for the purpose of distributing the load over a large area.
"Foundation" is that part of a structure which is in direct contact with soil and transmits load
into it.

Foundations are broadly classified as:

1. Shallow Foundations
2. Deep Foundations

A deep foundation is a type of foundation which transfers building loads to the earth
farther down from the surface than a shallow foundation does, to a subsurface layer or a
range of depths. A pile is a vertical structural element of a deep foundation, driven or drilled
deep into the ground at the building site.

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 According to Karl von Terzaghi3, a foundation is shallow if its depth is equal to or less
than its width. Foundations constructed by open excavation are also called shallow
foundations. Shallow foundations are used when the soil has sufficient strength within a short
depth below the ground level. They need sufficient plan area to transfer the heavy loads to
the base soil, rather than to a subsurface layer or a range of depths as does a deep foundation.
The type of foundation also depends upon the distance between base of footing and ground
surface (D) and width of footing (B).
Shallow foundation has two parts:-
1. Shallow footing - when D/B < 1.
2. Deep footing - when 1 < D/B< 15.
The different types of shallow footing are -

Isolated footing
Strap footing
Strip or continuous footing
Combined footing
Mat or raft footing
To get a clear idea about each type of footing, here some images of them are provided (from
next page onwards) -

3. Karl von Terzaghi (October 2, 1883 October 25, 1963) was an Austrian civil engineer,
geotechnical engineer and geologist known as the "father of soil mechanics".

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ISOLATED FOOTING

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STRAP FOOTING

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STRIP OR CONTINUOUS FOOTING

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COMBINED FOOTING

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RAFT OR MAT FOOTING

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Combined footing

Whenever two or more columns in a straight line are carried on a single spread
footing, it is called a combined footing. Isolated footings for each column are generally the
economical. But combined footings are provided only when it is absolutely necessary, as
When two columns are close together, causing overlap of adjacent isolated footings
Where soil bearing capacity is low, causing overlap of adjacent isolated footings
Proximity of building line or existing building or sewer, adjacent to a building column.
But, before going into discussion about combined footing, it is necessary to know and
understand several points about foundation and its design. A foundation is an integral part of
structure. The stability of a structure depends upon the stability of the supporting soil. The
basic factors that must be satisfied are -
The foundation must be stable against shear failure of the supporting soil.
The foundation must not settle beyond a tolerable limit to avoid damage to the
structure.
The factors that are to be considered in selecting a type of foundation,
1. Functions of the structures
2. Load the structure has to carry
3. Subsurface condition of the soil

Design loads that are to be considered -

dead loads
live loads
wind and earthquake loads
lateral pressure exerted by foundation earth on the embedded structural elements
dynamic loads
lateral or uplift forces on the foundation elements
swelling pressures due to expansive soil
heave pressure due to frost heave
negative frictional drag on piles

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Steps for selection of the type of the foundation -
1. Obtaining the required information concerning the nature of the superstructure and
the loads to be transmitted to the foundation.
2. Obtaining the subsurface soil condition
3. considering
a. the bearing capacity of the soil to carry the required load
b. the adverse effects on the structure due to differential settlements
4. After selecting one or two types of foundation, more accurate determination of loads,
subsurface conditions and footing sizes.
5. Estimating cost of each type of the foundations and compromising between
performance and cost based on that.

The facts that are to be kept in mind during designing a foundation -

It is worth mentioning that the design of foundation structures is somewhat different
from the design of other elements of superstructure. Therefore, foundation structures need
special attention of the designers.
1. Foundation structures undergo soil-structure interaction. Therefore, the behaviour of
foundation structures depends on the properties of structural materials and soil.
2. Accurate estimations of all types of loads, moments and forces are needed for the
present as well as for future expansion, if applicable. It is very important as the
foundation structure, once completed, is difficult to strengthen in future.
3. Foundation structures, though remain underground involving very little architectural
aesthetics, have to be housed within the property line which may cause additional
forces and moments due to the eccentricity of foundation.
4. Foundation structures are in direct contact with the soil and may be affected due to
harmful chemicals and minerals present in the soil and fluctuations of water table
when it is very near to the foundation. Moreover, periodic inspection and
maintenance are practically impossible for the foundation structures.

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BEARING CAPACITY OF COHESIVE MATERIAL WITH INTERNAL FRICTION
The bearing capacity of foundations depends on the mechanical properties of the soil
(density, shearing strength and deformation characteristics), on the original stresses and the
water conditions in the ground, on the physical characteristics of the foundation (size, depth,
shape and roughness) and on the way in which the foundation is installed. In view of
mathematical difficulties the problem can at present only be solved by simplified methods.
The bearing capacity of surface and shallow foundations is generally estimated on the
assumption that the soil is a rigid material (general shear failure); for deep foundations, when
the deformation characteristics become of greater importance, the compressibility of the
material is usually taken into account by an empirical reduction of the shearing strength (local
shear failure). The influence on the soil properties of the method of installing the foundation
is also based on empirical evidence.
For a material whose shearing strength is given by the equation
s = c +p tan q, (Coulomb-Mohr's theory of rupture). (1)
Where c denotes unit or apparent cohesion,
Q = angle of internal friction or shearing resistance,
And p normal pressure on shear plane,

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