CHAPTER

TYPES OF
FOOTI NG
WITH ITS
ADVANTAGES AND
DISADVANTAGES

II

There are 6 types of

FOOTINGS:
I. For shallow foundations:
1. isolated or pad footing or Single footing
2. Strap footing or Cantilever footing
3. Combined footing
4. Strip or continuous footing
5. Mat or raft footing
II. For deep foundations:
6. Driven piles/Displacement piles

Trivia:
What is the reason why footings are much bigger
than the columns?
AXIAL
LOAD

The most important thing is to keep the most

important thing the most important thing
-Donald P. Coduto (From the book, Foundation
Design)

Pls delete this.

Ans. For the building to stand on its own (common ans.)the real answer is for the axial forces
exerted by the column will be distributed evenly to the ground.

WHAT IS ISOLATED OR PAD

FOOTING?

 It is circular, square or rectangular slab of uniform

thickness. Sometimes, it is stepped to spread the
load over a larger area. When footing is provided
to support an individual column, it is called
isolated footing because it carries/support the
load of one column.
FOOTING
ACTUAL VIEW

FOOTING ORTHOGRAPHIC VIEW

ISOLATED FOOTING CUT-AWAY

ADVANTAGES:
This type of footings are suitable for stable sites that are
flat or sloping. Timber framed construction with brick up to
floor level may be constructed onto strip footings in
reactive clay areas
Isolated footings can reduce typical cracking that occurs
over time in basements as the building settles.
They have an advantage over spot footingsince the
weight of the building is spreadcontinuously across the
entire buildingfootprint instead of a single point of contact
with the foundation.
Shallow foundation Requires little excavation.
Can be designed to accommodate tight sites.
Economic due to control of foundation size.
Reinforcement for tension and shear can be added.

DISADVANTAGES:
Isolated footings require the soil to be stable all
around the base of the structure.
Isolated footing size can be a very large to cope
with high point loads.
Limited foundation suitability to point loads of
framed buildings.
Separate foundations make this design weak
against differential settlement that may affect the
building.
Deep excavations for foundations would require
support to prevent caving in.
Weak against uplift forces, wind forces and
earthquake forces.

WHAT IS STRAP FOOTING?

 A strap (or cantilever) footing consists of two

isolated footings connected with a structural strap
or a lever. The strap connects the two footings
such that they behave as one unit. The strap is
designed as a rigid beam. The individual footings
are so designed that their combined line of action
passes through the resultant of the total load.

STRAP CONFIGURATIONS

The function of the strap beam is to transfer the load of

heavily loaded outer column to the inner one. In doing so,
the strap beam is subjected to bending moment and shear
force and it should be suitably designed to withstand these.

ADVANTAGES:
A strap footing is more economical than a
combined footing when the allowable soil pressure
is relatively high and distance between the
columns is large.

DISADVANTAGES:
If columns are located directly adjacent to the
property line, the column footings may be offset,
but this results in an eccentric load on a portion of
the footing, causing it to tilt to one side. The strap
beam restraints the tendency of the footing to
overturn by connecting it to nearby footings
When the new structure is built near the existing
building or structure, and the existing building
cannot support the loads from new structure, then
new column and footing has to be provided near
the existing structure, but there will be limited
space for footing.

WHAT IS COMBINED FOOTING?

 A combined footing supports two columns. It is

used when the two columns are so close to each
other that their individual footings would overlap.
A combined footing is also provided when the
property line is so close to one column that a
spread footing would be eccentrically loaded
when kept entirely within the property line. By
combining it with that of an interior column, the
load is evenly distributed. A combined footing
may be rectangular or trapezoidal in plan.

USING OF COMBINED FOOTINGS

Construction practice may dictate using only one footing for two
or more columns due to:
a.) Closeness of Column (for example around elevator shafts and
escalators); and
b.) Due to property line constraint, which may limit the size of
footings at boundary. The eccentricity of a column placed on an
edge of a footing may be compensated by tying the footing to the
interior column

WHAT IS STRIP OR
CANTILEVER FOOTING?

 the Strip foundations are suited to continuous load

bearing walls as opposed to point loads. Not
intended to support building higher than 3/4
storeys. The narrow trenches would need to be
taken to a depth where the foundation could
transfer the load to suitable stratum, at depth the
excavated trenches would require supports to
prevent caving in. Working space needed of
600mm (under building regulations) for health
and safety would need to be provided for workers
to carry out work, the sided of the excavated
working space trenches requiring support. Once
all required work has been carried out the working
space trenches would have to be backfilled.

STRIP FOOTING FOUNDATION

PLAN

Sometimes such strip are arranged in both direction,

in which case a grid foundation is obtained.

ADVANTAGES:
Shallow foundations, therefore little excavation
needed.
Economically cheap due to the narrow, shallow
design
Little to no impact on neighbouring properties

DISADVANTAGES:
Limited load carrying ability due to foundation
depths and design, therefore only suited to
small/medium developments.
Not ideal for framed construction.
Weak against uplift forces, wind forces and
earthquake forces.
Weak in stratum of loose sand or gravel.

WHAT IS MAT OR RAFT

FOOTING?

 Raft foundations are ideal foundation choice to

support light weight buildings (3/4 stories high).
The design provides an economical advantage
that is the dual use of the raft as the ground floor
concrete slab. The foundation is suited to
traditional buildings in grounds of poor/mixed
bearing stratum. The raft provides very good
protection against differential ground settlement,
earthquakes and heave due to the design. The
raft would traditionally not suit a famed building.
The raft can be designed to accommodate framed
structures however they were not intended to
cope with high point loads. The concrete mix can
have SRPC added to help resist chemical attack.

 Apart from developing large bearing areas, another advantage

of strip and mat foundation is that their continuity and rigidity
help in reducing differential settlements of individual column
relative to each other, which may otherwise be caused by local
variation in the quality of subsoil, other causes.

ADVANTAGES:
Financially cheap due to the combined use of the
foundation as the floor.
Shallow depth of foundation means little
excavation.
Can cope with poor/mixed ground conditions.

DISADVANTAGES:
Weak when supporting point loads, specific
treatment required.
Susceptible to edge erosion.

WHAT IS DISPLACEMENT
PILES/ DRIVEN PILES?

 Friction Pile foundations are uniformly distributed

columns driven into the ground via the repeated
dropping of a weight onto the head of the pile, to reach
the required depth and transmit the required building
loads to good bearing stratum. Pile foundations would
normally be used when ground conditions are not
suitable to economically support reason for traditional
foundations. Friction piles cope well with live loads,
dead loads, wind loads, earthquakes and uplift. They
can cause problems such as heave. The piles are
compatible with framed buildings and designed to
carry loads of light to heavy weight structures. Steel
piles have a very high resistance to sulphur attack or
SRPC can be added to concrete mixes. Piles are ideal
for brown field sites that may have had previous
buildings on the site. Reinforcement can be added to
cope with the horizontal forces. There is an economic
advantage not excavating material.

ADVANTAGES:

Can transfer load in variable ground conditions.

Can transfer loads to deep bearing stratum
Suitable to tight sites.
Made off site and quality maintained due to factory
production.
There is no evidence that Steel piles are susceptible to
corrosion by the action of sulphur reducing bacteria
No excavation required. No need to support excavated
holes.
Suited to framed construction

DISADVANTAGES:
Problematic when dimensional stability of the
ground is an issue.
Problematic when there is demolition debris or
boulders in the ground.
Noisy installation method can cause
environmental impact
Vibration can affect neighboring properties
Can cause ground heave

No building is better than its structural

foundation, and no man is better than his
mental foundation.-John Wooden