FOUNDATION AND FOOTING

THE FUNCTION OF A FOUNDATION IS TO TRANSFER THE STRUCTURAL LOADS FROM A

BUILDING SAFELY INTO THE GROUND.
ALL FOUNDATIONS SETTLE TO SOME EXTENT AS THE SOIL AROUND BENEATH THEM
ADJUST ITSELF TO THESE LOADS.
UNIFORM SETTLEMENT IS USUALLY OF LITTLE CONSEQUENCES IN A BUILDING, BUT A
DIFFERENTIAL SETTLEMENT CAN CAUSE SEVERE
STRUCTURAL DAMAGE.

3 MAJOR PARTS OF A BUILDING:

SUPERSTRUCTURE – WHICH IS THE ABOVE GROUND PORTION OF THE BUILDING.
SUBSTRUCTURE – WHICH IS THE HABITABLE BELOW-GROUND PORTION.
FOUNDATION – WHICH ARE THE COMPONENTS OF THE BUILDING THAT TRANSFER ITS
LOAD INTO THE SOIL.

3 TYPES OF SUBSTRUCTURES:
SLAB ON FILL
CRAWLSPACE
BASEMENT

2 BASIC TYPES OF FOUNDATIONS:

SHALLOW FOUNDATIONS
SHALLOW FOUNDATIONS ARE THOSE THAT TRANSFER THE LOAD TO THE EARTH AT THE
BASE OF THE COLUMN OR WALL OF THE
SUBSTRUCTURE.
DEEP FOUNDATIONS TRANSFER THE LOAD AT A POINT FAR BELOW THE SUBSTRUCTURE.
FOUNDATION IS THAT PORTION OF THE STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS THAT CARRY OR
SUPPORT THE SUPERSTRUCTURE OF THE BUILDING.

FOOTING IS THAT PORTION OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE STRUCTURE WHICH DIRECTLY

TRANSMIT THE COLUMN LOAD TO THE UNDERLYING
SOIL OR ROCK, FOOTING IS THE LOWER PORTION OF THE FOUNDATION STRUCTURE.
FOUNDATION BED - REFERS TO THE SOIL OR ROCK DIRECTLY BENEATH THE FOOTING.
PILE FOUNDATION – WHEN A FOUNDATION BED IS TOO WEAK TO SUPPORT A RAFT
FOOTING, THERE IS AN URGENT NEED TO PROVIDE A
SUITABLE MATERIALS WHERE TO TRANSFER THE EXCESS LOAD TO A GREATER DEPTH
WHEREIN PILES IS THE ANSWER.
PILE – IS A STRUCTURAL MEMBER OF SMALL CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA WITH REASONABLE
LENGTH DRIVEN DOWN THE GROUND BY MEANS OF
HAMMERS OR VIBRATORY GENERATOR.
PILE IS DISTINGUISHED FROM A CAISSON BY BEING DRIVEN INTO PLACE RATHER THAN
DRILED & POURED.
PILES ARE GENERALLY DRIVEN CLOSELY TOGETHER IN CLUSTERS CONTAINING FROM
TWO TO TWENTY-FIVE PILES. EACH CLUSTER IS LATER
JOINED AT THE TOP BY A REINFORCED CONCRETE PILE CAP.
PILE CAP – DISTRIBUTES THE LOAD OF THE COLUMN OR WALL EQUALLY AMONG THE
PILES.
CAISSONS – IS SIMILAR TO A COLUMN FOOTING IN THAT IT SPREADS THE LOAD FROM A
COLUMN OVER A LARGE ENOUGH AREA OF SOIL.
FOUNDATION WALL – THAT PART OF THE BUILDING FOUNDATION WHICH FORMS THE
PERMANENT RETAINING WALL OF THE STRUCTURE BELOW GRADE.
GRADE BEAM – THAT PART OF A FOUNDATION SYSTEM W/C SUPPORTS THE EXTERIOR
WALL OF THE SUPERSTRUCTURE AND BEARS DIRECTLY
ON THE COLUMN FOOTING.
RETAINING WALL – A WALL OR LATERALLY BRACED, THAT BEARS AGAINST AN EARTH
OR OTHER FILL SURFACE AND RESISTS LATERAL AND
OTHER FORCES.
CANTILEVER WALL – A REINFORCED CONCRETE WALL WHICH RESIST OVERTURNING BY
THE USE OF CANTILEVER FOOTING.
GRAVITY WALL – A MASSIVE CONCRETE WALL THAT RESIST OVERTURNING BY VIRTUE
OF ITS OWN WEIGHT.
BEARING WALL – A WALL CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING AN IMPOSED LOAD.

FOOTING ARE CLASSIFIED INTO TWO TYPES:

WALL FOOTING OR STRIP FOOTING – IS A STRIP OF REINFORCED CONCRETE WIDER
THAN THE WALL WHICH DISTRIBUTES THE LOAD TO THE SOIL.
A STEEL PERCENTAGE EQUALS TO 0.2 TO 0.3% OF THE CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA OF
CONCRETE IS SAID TO BE ADEQUATE EXCEPT ON
UNUSUAL CASES.
COLUMN FOOTING – IS CLASSIFIED INTO THE FOLLOWING TYPES:
1. ISOLATED OR INDEPENDENT FOOTING – IS A KIND OF FOOTING REPRESENTS THE
SIMPLEST AND MOST ECONOMICAL TYPE, IN THE FORM OF:
SQUARE BLOCK FOOTING
SQUARE SLOPE FOOTING
SQUARE STEPPED FOOTING
2. COMBINED FOOTING – IS USED WHEN TWO OR MORE COLUMNS ARE SPACED CLOSELY
TO EACH OTHER THAT THEIR FOOTING WILL ALMOST OR
COMPLETELY MERGE. IT’S EITHER:
RECTANGULAR
TRAPEZOIDAL
3. CONTINUOUS FOOTING – IS SOMETIMES CLASSIFIED AS WALL FOOTING WHICH SUPPORT
SEVERAL COLUMNS IN A ROW. IT’S EITHER:
INVERTED SLAB FOOTING
INVERTED TEE FOOTING
4. RAFT OR MAT FOOTING – IT’S OCCUPIES THE ENTIRE AREA BENEATH THE STRUCTURE
AND CARRY THE WALL AND THE COLUMN LOADS.
UNIFORM SLAB
THICKENED SLAB
BEAM & GIRDER

FOUNDATION
THE LOWEST DIVISION OF A BUILDING OR OTHER CONSTRUCTION, PARTLY OR WHOLLY
BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE GROUND, DESIGNED TO SUPPORT AND ANCHOR THE
SUPERSTRUCTURE AND TRANSMIT ITS BADS DIRECTLY TO THE EARTH.
 SHALLOW FOUNDATION
A FOUNDATION SYSTEM PLACED
DIRECTLY BELOW THE LOWEST
PART OF A SUBSTRUCTURE AND
TRANSFERRING BUILDING LOADS
DIRECTLY TO THE SUPPORTING
SOIL BY VERTICAL PRESSURE.
FOOTING
THE PART OF A FOUNDATION
BEARING DIRECTLY UPON THE
SUPPORTING SOIL, SET BELOW
THE FROSTLINE AND ENLARGED
TO DISTRIBUTE ITS BAD OVER A
GREATER AREA.
DEEP FOUNDATION
A FOUNDATIBA SYSTEM THAT EXTENDS
DOWN THROUGH UNSALABLE SOLL TO
TRANSFER BUILDING LADS TO A MORE
APPROPRIATE BEARING STRATUM WELL
BELOW THE SUPERSTRUCTURE.
PILE FOUNDATION
A SYSTEM OF PILES, PILE CAPS, AND TIE
BEAMS FOR TRANSIERG BUILDING LOADS
DOWN TO A SUITABLE BEARING STRATUM,
USED ESP. WHEN THE SOIL MASS
DIRECTLY BELOW THE CONSTRUCTION IS

BEARING STRATUM BATTER PILE DRIVE BAND

A STRATUM OF SOL A PILE DRIVEN AT A A STEEL BAND
OR ROCK ON WHICH SPECIFIED ANGLE ENCIRCLING THE
A FOOTING BEARS, TO THE VERTICAL IN HEAD OF A TIMBER
OR TO WHICH A ORDER TO PROVIDE PILE TO PREVENT IT
BUILDING LOAD IS RESISTANCE FROM SPLITTING
TRANSFERRED BY A AGAINST LATERAL WHEN DRIVEN. ALSO
PILE OR CAISSON. FORCES. CALLED PILE RING

FOUNDATION SYSTEMS (DEEP AND SHALLOW FOUNDATION)

 THE FOUNDATION SYSTEM
SERVES TO TRANSFER LATERAL
LOADS FROM THE
SUPERSTRUCTURE TO THE
GROUND. THIS TRANSFER
PRIMARILY OCCURS THROUGH
SOIL FRICTION ON THE BOTTOM
OF FOOTINGS AND PASSIVE SOIL
PRESSURE ON THE SIDES OF
FOOTINGS AND FOUNDATION
WALLS. FOUNDATIONS ARE
BROADLY CLASSIFIED INTO
SHALLOW AND DEEP
FOUNDATIONS BASED ON THEIR
DESIGN AND DEPTH.

SHALLOW FOUNDATIONS
1. SHALLOW OR SPREAD FOUNDATIONS ARE UTILIZED WHEN STABLE SOIL WITH
SUFFICIENT BEARING CAPACITY IS PRESENT RELATIVELY CLOSE TO THE SURFACE.
POSITIONED DIRECTLY BENEATH THE LOWEST PART OF A SUPERSTRUCTURE, THEY
TRANSMIT BUILDING LOADS DIRECTLY TO THE SUPPORTING SOIL THROUGH VERTICAL
PRESSURE. VARIOUS TYPES OF SHALLOW OR SPREAD FOOTINGS INCLUDE:

C.) BLOCK OR SQUARE B.) STEPPED A.) SLOPE OR

FOOTINGS FOOTINGS PYRAMIDAL
 2. STRIP FOOTINGS – ARE THE CONTINUOUS SPREAD FOOTINGS OF
FOUNDATION WALLS.
STEPPED FOOTINGS ARE STRIP FOOTINGS THAT CHANGE LEVELS TO
ACCOMMODATE A SLOPING GRADE AND MAINTAIN THE REQUIRED DEPTH AT
ALL POINTS AROUND A BUILDING.

3. COMBINED FOOTING
A.) COMBINED FOOTINGS SUPPORT MULTIPLE
COLUMNS WHEN INDIVIDUAL FOOTINGS
CAN'T BE CENTERED, SUCH AS NEAR
PROPERTY LINES. THEY'RE PLACED
BENEATH ADJACENT COLUMNS, OFTEN
USING THE NEAREST INTERIOR COLUMN AS A
REFERENCE FOR PLACEMENT.
COMBINED COLUMN FOOTINGS ALIGN THE
COMBINED LOADS' CENTER OF GRAVITY WITH THE
FOOTING'S CENTER OF GRAVITY. THEY USUALLY
HAVE RECTANGULAR OR TRAPEZOIDAL SHAPES TO
DISTRIBUTE LOADS FROM MULTIPLE COLUMNS
EFFECTIVELY, ENSURING STABILITY AND BALANCE..

B.) CANTILEVERED FOOTINGS CAN REPLACE

COMBINED FOOTINGS UNDER SIMILAR
CONDITIONS. THEY INVOLVE CONNECTING
THE FOOTINGS OF EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR
COLUMNS WITH A TIE-BEAM OR STRAP,
EXTENDED TO SUPPORT THE EXTERIOR
COLUMN. TYPICALLY, THE TOP OF THE
BEAM OR STRAP ALIGNS WITH THE TOP OF
THE FOOTINGS.
C. CONTINUOUS FOOTINGS.
THESE MAY BE:
1. SUPPORTING A LINE OF COLUMNS
2. SUPPORTING ALL OF THE COLUMNS
BY STRIPS AT RIGHT ANGLES TO
EACH
OTHER.
THEY MAY BE INVERTED SLAB OR
INVERTED TEE CONTINUOUS
FOOTINGS.

4. MAT OR RAFT FOUNDATIONS

MAT FOUNDATIONS, SIMILAR TO
CONTINUOUS FOOTINGS, ARE
EMPLOYED IN LOW BEARING POWER
SOIL TO COUNTERACT UNEQUAL
SETTLEMENT CAUSED BY UNEVEN SOIL LOADING. THEY INTEGRATE ALL FOUNDATION
PARTS TO FUNCTION AS A UNIFIED SYSTEM, ENSURING LEVEL AND PLUMB STABILITY.

DEEP FOUNDATIONS ARE EMPLOYED WHEN THE SOIL UNDERLYING A SHALLOW

FOUNDATION IS UNSTABLE OR OF INADEQUATE SOIL BEARING CAPACITY. THEY EXTEND
DOWN THROUGH UNSUITABLE SOIL TO TRANSFER BUILDING LOADS TO A MORE
APPROPRIATE BEARING STRATUM OF ROCK OR DENSE SAND AND GRAVEL WELL BELOW
THE SUPERSTRUCTURE. THE TYPES OF DEEP FOUNDATIONS ARE PILE AND CAISSON
FOUNDATIONS.

1. PILE FOUNDATIONS
– A PILE FOUNDATION IS A
SYSTEM OF END BEARING OR
FRICTION PILES, PILE CAPS,
AND TIE BEAMS FOR
TRANSFERRING BUILDING LOADS
DOWN TO A SUITABLE BEARING
STRATUM.