2.

Foundation
Functions
Classification
Soil treatment
Underpinning
construction

HEAT
LOSS
THERMAL
INSULATI
ON

HEA
T

WEATHE
R
EXCLUSI
ON

PROVIDE
VENTILATI
ON

ENVELOPE
FOR
ACCEPTABL
E
APPEARAN
CE
NATURAL
DAYLIGHT
TO
INTERIOR

VISUAL
CONTACT
WITH
OUTSIDE

SOUND
INSULATION

ENVELOPE FOR
ADEQUATE STRENGTH,
STABILITY,
DURABILITY
AND FIRE RESISTANCE

ACCESS TO
GO IN AND
OUTS

RESIST MOISTURE PENETRATION

RISING THROUGH THE WALL
FROM THE GROUND

Functional requirement of a

Foundation:
A foundation is the base on which a building rests, and
its purpose is to transfer the load of a building safely to
a suitable sub soil.
Terminology:
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

Load Bearing

 A framed structure is composed of beams

and columns. With the load being
transferred into the beams via the floor and
then down to foundations through the
columns.

RCC Framed structure

 Rural isolated locations for a single property

Undeveloped land for a number of properties
On land where previous properties have been
demolished
On infill locations behind existing properties

 Enable detailed setting out to take place

Modify the ground contours to remove
excessive undulations
Provide for services to properties and the
access roads provide retaining structures
To accommodate severe changes in ground
levels
Allow access to the both during
construction
and when occupied


Preliminary desk study

Examination and interpretation of airphotographs

Site walk-over survey

Design of ground exploration programme

Exploration by trial pits and/or bore holes

Soil and rock classification by sample

description
and index testing

Insitu and laboratory testing of soils and rocks

for
mechanical and chemical properties

Preparation of reports

Topography, Vegetation and Drainage

Does the site lie on sloping ground and if so
what is the maximum slope angle?
Are there springs, ponds, or watercourses on
or
near the site?
Is there evidence of changes in ground
level?
Are trees or hedges growing in the area of
construction?

Ground Conditions

What geological strata lie below the site

and
how thick are they?

Is there available information on the

strength
and compressibility of the ground?

Is the subsoil shrinkable clay?

Is there any evidence of land slipping either

on or adjacent to the site?

Any mining or quarrying activities in the

area?

What area will the building occupy?

What foundation load is expected?

How sensitive is the building to

differential
foundation movements?

What soil information is required to

design
the foundation?

Is specialist Geotechnical skill

required

A number of simple tools are

needed for site inspection
Compass
Pocket penetrometer
Abney level
Auger
Spade
Camera

Abney level

Spade

Local Enquiries
Enquiries involve talking to people and
visiting
sources of reference materials.
These include visit to libraries, planning
authorities, universities etc.
Enquiries from public utilities provider,
such as gas,
electricity, water and
telephone facilities.
Enquiries from authorities concerned for
records
and maps of the site showing
the position of field
boundaries, ponds,
streams and pits are to be
made. These
records can usually be hand copied.

TRIAL PIT
A trial pit is an excavation of ground
in order to study or sample the
composition and structure of the
subsurface.
usually
dug
during
a
site
investigation, a soil survey or a
geological survey.
Trial pits are dug before the
construction.
They are dug to determine the
geology and the water table of that
site.
Trial pits are usually between 1 and 4
metres deep, and are dug either by
hand or using a mechanical digger.
Building and construction regulations
clearly state that any trial pits that
concede deeper than 1.2 metres
should be secured against structural
collapse, if they are to be entered by

Deep vane and seismic

method

Soil test Exploration

technique


The
visual
inspection
of
in-situ
soil
conditions.

The detailed examination of soil variability,

structure and weathering profile.

The observation of water seepage and its

measurement.

The search for geological or archaeological

features or existing foundations.

Ease of excavation and stability of

excavations.
Obtaining large bulk samples, block samples etc.

Methods of Boring

Auger Boring
Shell and Auger Boring
Wash Boring
Percussion Boring
Rotary Boring

Auger Boring

Shell and Augor Boring

Wash Boring

Rotary boring

Levelling a Construction
Sites

Cut and Fill

Enable setting out of the buildings

Provide particular landscaping

features
Provide level areas for the
construction of
buildings
Assist with the construction of roads

Leveling a Construction Sites

Setting Out of Simple

Building

Establishing the position of the building on

the site is known as setting out the building
The first task in setting out the building is
to establish a base line to which all the
setting out can be related.
The base line very often coincides with the
building line, which is a line, whose position
on site is given by the local authority in
front of which no development is permitted .

Step 1: Obtaining of a Base Line

The first step in building setting out is to identify a

base line according to the site layout plan. We can
establish the base line considering the permanent
structures and the relevant distances to structural
parts from them as given in the drawings

Setting out is done based on the principle of Whole

to part. According to this principle the largest
possible rectangle of the building is found and set
up first. Then it is further divided into small parts
completing the major setting out for the building.

Main instruments involved in this process are Theodolite,

Steel and Linen Tapes, Arrows, Wooden pegs, Wire nails
and Nylon threads.
After establishing the base line, the main rectangle is set
up using the pegs and theodolite. Arrows are used as
temporary pegs and wooden pegs are driven for permanent
pegs .90 angle is taken by the theodolite and Pythagoras
rule is also commonly used for the process

Theodolite

Wooden
peg

Pythagoras
theorem

Building Elements
The important parts of a building are called the
building elements. The building elements of
houses include:

Foundations
External walls
Pitched roof
Windows
Partition walls
Suspended floors
Services

Excavation: Excavation of topsoil down to formation level (point of

commencing
floor),
foundation
trenches,
(assuming
strip
foundations), and compaction of trench bottoms.

Concrete: In strip foundation, the concrete is laid as per the design.

Services: Route the position of incoming services (and occasionally

outgoing ground floor WCs), including ducts through walls to inside
floor level as needed, install below ground drainage system, form
trenches for incoming water, electricity, gas, and telecommunications.

Brick work / Block work: Common bricks and in foundations trenches,

facing bricks to outer skin up to DPC.

Filling: Stone hardcore to floor slab and inner part of the foundation
trenches, sand blinding to hard-core surface.

Membranes: Damp proof membrane (DPM) polythene sheeting, turned

over inner skin of external wall and any internal wall, which have the
foundation.

Insulation: Possible rigid board insulation for floor slab.

Steps in Construction
Activities..
Concrete: To floor slab, after laying the hard core etc:
(assuming solid floor slab).
Above external wall DPC
Brick Work/Block Work: Construct external wall block
work, place the insulation and holding ties, lay
brickwork, including building in lintels, cavity tie/weep
holes arrangements and closing cavity. Construct block
works to internal partitions all to the first floor level.
Wood works: Fix first floor joists, fix staircase.
Brick work/block work: Continue with external walls and
window openings.
Roofing: Fix wall plate above inner external wall skin,
locate and fix trussed rafter roof structure.

Partitions: Fix the first floor partition carcass.

Services: Provide first fix for electrical (cable in), provide first fix
for plumbing and heating (pipe in).
Windows and external doors: Fix in position.
Finishes: Apply plaster board and insitu plaster finishes, apply
floor screed to ground floor (if not powder floated).
Services: Second fix electrical (light, sockets and switches),
second fix plumbing (sanitary appliances and fittings) and
heating.
Fittings: Install cupboards, fit kitchen.
Painting: Externally and internally.
External works: Landscaping, grass laying, planting, boundary
fencing etc.

Factors affecting choice of

construction

Existing ground level.

Floor loading.
Bearing capacity of the subsoil.
Type of foundation used.
Required floor finish.

 Super structure: which is above the ground

Substructure or foundation: below the ground level
The basic function of a foundation is to transmit the
dead loads, superimposed loads (live loads), and
wind loads from a building to the soil on which the
loads are transmitted
Foundations are below ground level and support the
weight of the building

Reduction of load intensity: Foundation distribute the loads of the

superstructure to a larger area so that the intensity at the base, i.e.
total load divided by the total area, does not exceed the safe bearing
capacity of the sub soil.

Even distribution of load: Foundation distributes the non-uniform load

of the super structure evenly to the subsoil.

Provision of level surface: Foundation provides the level surface over

which the super structure can be built.

Lateral stability: It anchors the super structure to the ground thus

imparting the lateral stability to the super structure.

Safety against undermining: It provides the structural safety against

undermining or scouring due to burrowing animals and floodwater.

Protection against soil movements: Foundation minimizes or prevents

the distress like cracks in the super structure, due to expansion and
contraction.

DPC-Damp Proof Course

Damp proofing in construction is a type of moisture control
applied to building walls and floors to prevent moisture from
passing into the interior spaces. Damp problems are one of the
most frequent problems encountered in homes

Damp proofing is defined by the American Society

for Testing and Materials (ASTM) as a material that
resists the passage of water with no hydro-static
pressure and waterproof as a treatment that
resists the passage of water under pressure.
Generally damp proofing keeps moisture out of a
building where vapor barriers keep interior
moisture from getting into walls. Moisture
resistance is not necessarily absolute: it is usually
defined by a specific test method, limits, and

DPC-Damp Proof Course

contd
Damp proofing is accomplished several ways including:
A damp-proof course (DPC) is a barrier in a masonry wall
designed to resist moisture rising through the structure by
capillary action such as through a phenomenon known as rising
damp. The damp proof course may be horizontal or vertical. A
DPC layer is usually laid below all masonry walls, regardless if
the wall is a load bearing wall or a partition wall.
A damp-proof membrane (DPM) is a membrane material
applied to prevent moisture transmission. A common example
is polyethylene sheeting laid under a concrete slab to prevent
the concrete from gaining moisture through capillary action. A
DPM may be used for the DPC.
Integral damp proofing in concrete involves adding materials
to the concrete mix to make the concrete itself impermeable.
Surface coating with thin water proof materials for resistance
to non-pressurized moisture such as rain water or a coating of
cement sprayed on such as shotcrete which can resist water
under pressure.

DPC-Damp Proof Membrane

DPC-Damp Proof Membrane

DPC-Damp Proof Membrane

DPC-Damp Proof Membrane

Spread footings
Isolated footings (Pad footings or Foundation)
Combined footings
Strap footings
Mat or raft foundations

Types of Shallow
foundation

Strap footing

Shallow Foundation

Strip foundations
Strip foundations are used to support a line of loads,
either due to a load-bearing wall, or if a line of columns
need supporting where column positions are so close
that individual pad foundations would be inappropriate

Spread / Strip / continuous

footing

Pad foundations
Pad foundations are used to support an individual
point load such as that due to a structural column.
Shape may be circular, square or rectangular.
They usually consist of a block or slab of uniform
thickness, but they may be stepped or haunched if
they are required to spread the load from a heavy
column. Pad foundations are usually shallow, but
deep pad foundations can also be used.

Pad or Isolated footing

Pad or Isolated footing

Raft foundations
Raft foundations are used to spread
the load from a structure over a large
area, normally the entire area of the
structure. They are used when
column loads or other structural
loads are close together and
individual pad foundations would
interact.

Raft foundations

Deep foundations are those founding too deeply below the finished
ground surface for their base bearing capacity to be affected by
surface conditions, this is usually at depths > 3 m below finished
ground level.
They include piles, piers and caissons or compensated
foundations using deep basements and also deep pad or strip
foundations.
Deep foundations can be used to transfer the loading to a deeper,
more competent strata at depth if unsuitable soils are present near
the surface.

Types

Piles
Piers
Caissons
Compensated Foundations

Pile foundation
Foundation piles are groups of cylindrical
or flat sections of wood, steel or concrete
that are driven into soil to form part of a
foundation. They are used when the soil
near the surface is too weak to support
the weight of the structure or building.

Types of Pile
End bearing pile

Types of Pile
Friction piles

Settlement reducing piles

Settlement Reducing piles

Settlement reducing piles are usually
incorporated beneath the central part
of a raft foundation in order to reduce
differential
settlement
to
an
acceptable level.
Such piles act to reinforce the soil
beneath the raft and help to prevent
dishing of the raft in the centre

Concrete strip foundations are used to support and transmit the loads from
walls as shown in Figure. The width of strip foundations can be calculated
as follows:
Minimum width of strip= Total load of building per metre
(kN/m)/Safe bearing capacity of
subsoil kN/m2
Length of the wall
:9m
Width of the wall
:300mm
Height of the wall
:3.0m
Imposed load on the wall: 20kN/m
Density of wall :20 kN/m3
Calculate width of strip foundation?
SBC=100kN/m2
Solution:
Weight of wall per metre run = 3.0x0.3x20 = 18.0 kN/m
Total load= Weight of wall per m run+ imposed load
= 18.0+20 = 38.0 kN/m
Width of the strip= 38/100 = 0.38m.

Application Problems
1. Calculate the minimum depth of
foundation by Rankines formula to
suit the following data.
Safe bearing capacity of soil : 210
kN/m2
Density of soil
: 19
kN/m3
Angle of repose of the soil
: 33

Application Problems contd..

Solution:
Min depth of foundation by Rankines
formula:
hmin = p/w (1-sin / 1+sin )2
p- Bearing Capacity of soil,
w- Unit weight of soil,
- Angle of repose

= 210/19 (1-sin33/1+sin33)2

hmin = 0.96 m.

Application Problems contd..

2. Calculate width of strip foundations

to suit the following data.
Length of the wall
: 11 m
Width of the wall
: 200 mm
Height of the wall
: 3.25 m
Imposed load on the wall : 28 kN/m
Density of wall
: 20 kN/m3
SBC
: 140 kN/m2

Application Problems contd..

Solution:
Calculate weight of wall per metre run:
Width of the wall
: 0.2 m
Height of the wall
: 3.25 m
Density of wall
: 20 kN/m3
Consider per metre length of the wall
Weight of wall per metre run =
3.25x0.2x20 = 13.0 kN/m

Application Problems contd..

Imposed load on the wall
= 28 kN/m
Self-weight of wall per metre run = 13.0 kN/m
Total load per metre run = Weight of wall per m
run+ imposed load

= 13.0+28.0 = 41.0 kN/m

Calculate width of the strip:
Width of the strip= Total load per metre run/
SBC
Width of the strip= 41/140
Width of the strip= 0.30m.