Robert Afiniea partner of Price iver, consulting enginees. Ackrowndgenert ‘Thesthorhae ew wie from Breh Stanger, URE Digests an the NHC Handbook ace Feferenes) ard partieairy on BRE Current Paper 0178 Fndations "Tomlinson, rice 8 Soran aan ELEMENT DESIGN GUIDE SUBSTRUCTURE 1 DOMESTIC: ENGINEERING Domestic scale foundation and ground floor slab failures are the biggest single area of National House-Building Council (NHBC) claims, While engineers are increasingly being brought in to design domestic scale Guidance for architects With concern about professional lability ‘nereasing, many architects may feel that the less responsibility they take for decisions about foundations, the better. Others may feel they should be able to deal with foundations for small buildings exeept in unusual or diffieult ground conditions. Frequently the question is taken out of tne architects’ hands beeause local authorities insist ona report on the ground conditions and foundations from a structural or geotechnical engineer or soils laboratory Regul references ‘The Building Regulations 1985, Schedule 1 clauses Al and A2, reguire that the structure should be able to transmit the loads to the ground safely and without undue deflection or deformation, Further, swelling, shrinking or freezing movements of the subsoil shoutd not impair stability Approved Document A, Structure Part B, igives conditions and decign provisions for plain conerete strip foundations, with a table of foundation widths for various loadings in various subsoils. All architects will want to be familiar with these requirements. In addition, the code of practice which may be used to meet the requirements of A and Adis GP 8004: 1986 Fowndations,* but this will generally ben the engineer's territory, as will be the codes of practice for Site investigations, BS 5930: A9BF and Methods af test for soils, BS 1317: 19754 ‘An important new British Standard, BS 8103: Part 1: 1986 Structural design of lowrise buildings: Part 1: Code of practice _for stability, site investigation, foundations ‘and ground floor slabs for housing, covers the subject thoroughly, ina succinet way for non-engineers and is an essential reference, Site investigation Clients/developers must be made aware of the need for good site investigation, Stody of the site and subsoil comprises: © desk study @ site reconnaissance © gcround investigation Desk study ‘The first point of contact will probably be the building inspector, who may know the subsoil conditions already. Ask what site for the design and construction of dwellings substructure, architects need an understanding of the principles of site investigation and simple foundations, when to call in an engineer and the questions to ask. Robert Afia provides a guide to domestie substructure. An older and litle known code of practice, CP 101: 1972 Fowndations and substructures for non-industrial buildings afnol more than four storeys ie neither 28 succinct as BS 8108 nor as comprehensive as CP 8004, but may be of some interest, 28 isCP 102: 1973 Provection of buildings ‘against water from the grown.” ‘The NHBC 's Registered house-builders hhanalbook: Part H Technical requirements isa governing requirement for most new private housing work. It spells out requirements for assessment of ground conditions and for standard strip foundations and ground floors. It eontains a ‘number of practice notes on alternative types of suspended ground floors whieh may avoid the need for an engineer. Italso spells ‘out hazardous ground’ and ‘special conditions’ (for example, more than three storeys) for which foundation design must be carried out by a chartered engineer. Foundations other than standard strip footings must also be engineer designed. ‘The well known (in lay areas) Practice Note 8 Building near trees deals with foundations on clay where there are trees and is generally used by building:inspectors as thoir aceeptanee criterion for new house foundations, ‘Two NHBC requirements are of administrative importance. NHBC requires ‘two months’ notice of intention to build on bad ground. And where engineer design is necessary, the builder must get the engineer to visit the site during eonstruetion, BRE Digests provide a comprehensive ‘and clear guide ta prineiples and practice, with Soils and foundations 1-8 Digests 63, 64, 67)” and others on shrinkable clay," trees, filled ground,” hardeore,® conerete,§ piles,'® and damp-proofing."* investigation is required. If there is any doubt about the ground, a ground investigation specialist firm, especially if local, may have knowledge of the area, or may be able to do brief search of available information and give you a preliminary idea of the soil conditions and recommend a suitable site investigation. You can get details of firms from the Yellow Pages (‘Site | Jnvestigations’)or from the Association af Ground Investigation Specialists 01-561 / 0326). A structural or eivil engineer, even if | he or she will not be working on the job, or @ 1.2 November 86 7 FE‘geotechnical engineer will also probably be able to give some preliminary advice. If they will be on the job anyway, they will normally deal with the whole issue of foundations, In problem ground the foundations may have a large influence on design or even feasibility, so cal them in as soon as possible. ‘Much detailed information about the ‘ground isavailable, for example geological maps, memoirs and local records—see table 1. Thisisa specialist area. Search and interpretation is best carried out by an engineer if one is to be employed on the project. site recemaisamse Only rarely ist posible ose the subsoil tues tere isan encatationn the aic ora ditch, Look for excavations onadjecent sites and nearby ralwayor food eusngs Note visible cues to posble problems! Oo veeatin, especialy uruseal green poishes reeds, Fuchs wilowe ad poplars Shieh indieate wet ground conditions tall tae, wth apaie, Neg, pend, and ith of tran nel crea your Bulding Regulations submission wil ave to indiaie ailtees existing o removed ‘unusual oposrephy stops, mounds hammocks, oles, lowiying fat areas, ‘These maybe indications of mining Subeldone, lanai, creep gral flowing own the slope of ot clay), Swallow bolas (ine surface holon once erosion avis nfimestone or cal) oF former ponds, Note slopes, t rivern eteama, canals or ponds may fivean hleation of unter table lew ok {eens of flooding and wellsor springs @ existing und ajc buildings for signs of movements, and try to assess any. ikehod of thelr being affected bythe proposed work erin ld foundations servis Ground investigation Only ifthe ground conditions on the site are fully known will it be acceptable not to have any ground investigation. Even then it may be necessary to dig trial pits to cheek depths of existing or adjacent foundations. Elsewhere, the ground investigation must bbe designed. in most cases the design and supervision of the ground investigation will be the engineer's province. Ifa specialist ‘Table | Sources of information about the ground ‘Current Ordnance Seroey mape Early Ordnance Suroey mapa the British Library, National rary of Sealand, and National Museum of Wales Arehasoogial and historical mapa Published by the Ordnance Survey Gevlogial maps, memoir, well ond borehole records atthe Insttte of Geelogieal Sciences eca ecord trates loealasthoriies, oe public service authorities, natural history ocietes, County Records Office, Public Records Office ‘Aerial Photograph a county of loeal authorities, at the DOE, or private survey firme Mining resins from British Coal Mining Record five ofthe DTI, the Plans Record Office of the HSE, the Oe Mining Division of the BSC, tnd the Cheshire Brine Subsidence Compensation Board For further information, consult Appendices A,B and E of BS 3890 firm carries this out, a clear brief describing. the purpose of the investigation and the nature of the proposed development will be needed. Triat pite For smal buildings, in most cases machine-dag tral pits, 2-4 m deop, in Carefully chosen locations wil be adequate ‘oexamine the subsoil tothe depth affected by the proposed eonstruction. The number and location of trial pts will bea matter for judgment, but frequertlythe choice willbe @ minimum of one in each ofthe four Corners ofthe site, with additional ones in between, This st check the conditions at the extremes of the site and the variation across it, Back-acter excavators are hired fora minimum of a day, for £100-160, and six to 10 trial pits in a day are usually possible. Trial pitinvestigation includes: © assessment of made ground above subsoil (thickness, characteristics) ‘confirmation of expected depth to subscil ® confirmation of typeof subsoil expected « confirmation of thickness of subsil layer « assessment of subsoil to ascertain Allowable bearing pressure 6 assessment of ground water levels sessment of variations aross the site 6 assessment of sulphate levels and acidity inthe ground @ assessment of any possible problems expected from the desc study and site Feconnaistance or from local enquiries (assessment of existing and adjacent foundations and obstructions. ‘Trial pit observations may be made from the surface, but itis usually better to enter the pit. Adequate shoring must be provided—trial pits are areal risk. The Engineer will nte the strata and any water. Clay may be tested for strength by a penetrometer ora shear vane. Sand and Eravel is ansessed for compactness by its fase of excavation, or by driving a peg into 5t Samples of soil may’be tested for strength, grading, moisture eantent, acidity, sulphate content, shrinkabiity and ‘A simple trial pit ground investigation carried out by a Spetialis firm might eos, say around £850, including the report. Boreholes Boreholes will be needed in addition to trial pits where the subsoil needs to be examined toagreater depth, for example: filed sites (© where peat or other soft layers are expected at depth © where clays may be dessicated by trees @ to check if rock is bedrock rather than boulders © where piles will be needed through softer ‘material on to harder soils below. One rule of thumb is for the exploration to be taken to a depth below the footing of one and a half times the footing width. In the case of closely spaced footings or rafts on soft ground, the depth should be one and a half times the width of the building or raft, as the soi is affected to a greater depth by’ ‘these foundations, Borehole investigations might cost £50 per metre or £1000 per borehole, including ‘sample tests and report.‘Subsoil types Rocks Rocks will generally be suitable for bearing ‘The main types of subsoil, together with _on, with high allowable bearing pressures ‘some of their characteristies, are shown in and low settlement. But they may be table IT (from BRE Digest 64), Several ‘weathered or decomposed to some depth or other points should be noted, primarily may be fissured or stratified. Limestone about the bearing capacity of the subsoil _and chalk may contain eavities formed by ‘and the effects of ground water. solution of the rock with or without related ‘able Sol identifiation™ Fieldidentijication Fld asscasmontofstrusture Possie foundation digicultes aa strength Gravee Particle size? mm to 60 mm Loose, easily removed by shovel Loss of fine particles in water bearing ground ‘Somedry strength indicates 50 mm stakes eanbe driven presence of day wellin Sends Particle sie 0-08 mmto2 mm Compact, requires piekfor ‘Frost heave especially on fine ‘excavation. Stakes will sands ‘Clean sands break down penetrate only litle way ‘completely when dry. Excavation below water table Individual particles visible to ‘causes funs and local collapse, the naked eye and gritty to ‘especially in fine sands fingers Sites Particle size 0-002 mmto 0°06 mm, Particles not Soft—easily moulded withthe As for fine sands normaly distinguishable with fingers eked eye Firm—can be moulded with Slightly grity; moist lumpscan strong finger pressure hemouldes wih the fingers but ‘ot reled nto threads Shaking small moist lumpia ‘the hand brings water tothe surface Sits dry rapidly, erly easly rdered pow Clays Smooth, plastictothetouch, Very aoft—exudesbetween Shrinkage and sweling caused Sticky when moist. Hol fingers when squeered by vegetation togetber when dy. Wet amps Inmersedin water soften Soft—easlymoulded withthe Long term settlement by ‘without disintegrating fingers consliaticn Softclayseitherunformor _Firm-ean be moulded with _—Sulphatebearingelaye may Showhorizontal laminations strong finger pressure attack concrete and corrode vines Harder clas frequent Sutt—eannot be moulded wth fissured, the fissures opening Bngers Poor drainage Sghty when the overburden is Temoved raver suraee is Hard—britleor tough Movement down slopes; most Fevesled yaa pie foft eayslone strength when aisturbed Peat Fibrous, blac or brown Soft—verycompresileand Very ow bearing capacity: syonay lange setement caused by high often smelly compressibility ve ibleand ae ‘Shrinkage and swelling ery compressible and water rinkage and sweling— reventive foundations shouldbe on fem rata below Grate ‘Whiteread denies Plastio—shactered damp and Frostheave sight eompressibleor erumbly Floor labs on chal il icslenyronershe daring Sotpedingaiktor onstruction in old weather Swallow hol a Miscellaneous material, uch 8 ‘Tobe avoided unless carefully Tulle, mineral, waste, compacted on thin layers and Aecaying wood ‘rlleonsolgated May ignite oF contain injurious chemicals “From BRE Digest 64 Soils and foundations: ® A126 Novena 966 50swallow holes (cavities created by loss of ground) appearing. at the ground surface, Some shales and mudstones may soften ‘on exposure or in contact with water, Chalk and soft limestone will deteriorate when exposed to water or frost. Chalkis subject to frost heave. Gravel and sands Gravels and sands generally have a high bearing eapaeity and lower settlement than clays. The exeeption is loose sand, which is generally poorly graded (particles of a single size or a poor distribution of size so that the particles do not ‘lock’ together) Loose sand, and fine sand generally, may give serious construction problems below the water table in excavations, known as “running sand’. The bearing capacity of sand or gravel is reduced at or near the water table and for narrow footings. Some sands, especially fine sands, may be subject to frost heave, silt Siltis frost susceptible, of ow bearing capacity and exhibits high settlements, and shrinkage and swelling movements Foundations All buildings need foundations that © are strong enough do not settle too much under load ‘© donot move for reasons unconnected ‘with the load © are durable. Although all buildings need strong foundations, a small detached building or a framed warehouse, for example, will be able to accept settlement movements greater thana terrace of houses or a back extension to an existing building. And while total settlement isa factor for incoming ser’ and so on, in most cases itis differential settlement between adjacent parts of the building which is the most important consideration, asit eauses distortion and cracking. A conservatory on shrinkable clay with nearby trees, built against a house on piles, may itself need to have a piled foundation to avoid tearing away at the junction, or breaking allits glass, In this case, its light weight is of little consequence; itis the movements which will cause problems. NHBC reports significant number of failures to outbuildings such as garages ‘These need proper foundations and ground slabs. Careful siting of buildings can reduce movement problems by avoiding soft round, or existing or removed trees on clay sites. Attention to siting ean also reduce the need for expensive retaining walls and the risk of inducing slips in potentially unstable sloping sites. With slopes, foundations at different depths below the original level may have different settlement characteristics. Buildings should never be on ‘mixed’ foundations, for example piles, and pads, for the same reason. Not that all loadbearing walls (and possibly some non-loadbearing partitions if they are heavy) will need proper foundations, For an internal leadbearing wall, a slab thickening resting on poorly Clays have a wide range of bearing capacities. Unlike gravels and sands they exhibit long term settlement and movements due to factors unrelated to load, for example shrinkage and swelling as a result of moisture changes caused by weather and vegetation. They may also contain sulphates which attack cement (foundation conerete can be made with sulphate-resisting cements). Clays may be unstable on slopes as shallow as 1:10, leading to slips or ereep down the slope. Creep may be identified by curved tree trunks or tilted boundary walls and fence posts. Peat Ground containing pest will always require footings below the peat, or piled foundations, Fil Filled ground is rarely suitable for ordinary foundations without treatment. Itis by its nature variable, of low strength and high compressibility and may contain deleterious substances. EE ——————— compacted hardeore on soft clay will be useless, If, however, there is good sand or gravel already present at the surface, the hardcore could be omitted and slab thickening could be perfectly satisfactory. Extensions and adjacent buildings ‘The problem of building next to or connected ton existing structure is complicated. Often there is no perfect solution. It is necessary to consider both soil stresses and differential movements. As the load spreads out below the new foundation, it will apply additional load to soll already under load from the existing building. This may overstress the soil and will certainly cause new settlement. The settlement may be immediate (gravel) or long term (clay). ‘Anew strip footing at right angles to an existing one will have only a local, and probably negligible, effect. A new footing parallel to the existing wall will need careful study. Even if the new footings can be arranged so.as not to affect those of the existing building, the short term (gravel) and long. term (clay) settlement of an extension will have to be eatered for above ground, Complete separation of old and new, carried through to finishes, may be satisfactorily provided the movement provision is adequate and maintainable (or repairable). ‘Analternative approach can be to limit the ground bearing pressure under the new foundations so that settlement is small and then to bond in with the existing. Some buildings, such as those having old walls in lime mortar, may accept slight new movements gracefully. Others will not. The installation of new foundations may bea problem for existing ones. New excavations may destabilise them; piling vibration can eause damage. Problems can be caused if existing foundations are more shallow than those for the new construction. Stepping foundations down to the lower level over a short distance may be solution. Local underpinning of theexisting foundations is sometimes used, but presents the risk of creating a ‘hard spot” ‘under the existing foundations. Choice of foundation type ‘Table III shows appropriate foundations for small buildings for a variety of conditions, ‘Strip, trench fill and pad footings, Footing width Site investigation will have recommended an allowable bearing pressure on the chosen stratum, and this will take into aeeount the requirements for strength and for settlement under load. (Typical allowable ground bearing pressures are shown in table IV.) For strip or pad footings, the ‘width of footing will be calculated from the load and the allowable bearing pressure, or ‘may be taken direetly from tables in the Building Regulations or BS 8108. In many ‘eases in domestic eonstruetion, foundation ‘widths willbe the minimum to give reasonable setting out tolerances, such as 450 mm fora 280 mm cavity wall Depth to underside of footing ‘The footing depth will be governed by the following considerations: ‘© depth to chosen stratum @ on rock no footings at all may be needed and no particular depth is required. ‘Otherwise a practical minimum to form the foundation and toallove for services trenches is 450 mm. This will also be adequate for frost protection in frost, susceptible soils (chalk, fine sands and so fon), except in very exposed locations where 600 mm may be necessary © in lay subsoil, a minimiom of 1-0 mill be required where there are no trees existing or removed within distanees as in ERE Digest 298 or NHBC Practieo Note 8 © additional depth may be needed on slopes. near to deep services excavations, 1, where,” there is clay with trees, or for other factors. ‘Tle I holes of foundation ‘Sil type and ite condition Foundation Details Remarks Rock, solid chalk, sandsand Shallow stripor pad footings as Breadth of trip footings tobe Keep above water wherever gravelsor sandsand gravels appropriate to theloadbearing related to soil density and posible. Slopes on sand able ‘ith only smal proportions of clay, dence silty sands Uniform, firm and si clays: Where vegetation is insignificant ‘Where trees and shrubs are members ofthe building Bored piles and ground beams, Deepstrip footings the cratrip foundations atleast 1m — narrow widths shown in Bld deep Regs Approved Document Table Ei can convenientiybe formed of conerete upto the round surface Bored piles and ground beams Toading (see Bldg Regs Approved Document A, Table EI), Pad footings should be designed for bearing pressures tabled in CP S004: 1986, For higher pressures the depth should be iereased and Civil Engineering Code of Practice Nod Foundations consulted Bored piles, dimensions asin tperosion. Foundations 0-5 m deep shouldbe adequate on ground susceptible to frat heave, although in cold areas or inunkeated buildings the depth ‘may have to be increase Beware of swallow hales in chalk growing or tobe planted else Digest 67, table 3 Downhill creep may oeeur on tothesite slopes greater than Lin 1, Unreintorced ples ean be ‘Where trees are felled to clear Reinforced bored piles of broken by slowly moving slopes thesite andconstruetion is sufficient length with the top ddgetostart soon afterward S msleeved from the surrounding ground and with suspended floors, or thin feinforced rafts supporting exile bulings or sement rafts Soteclays, solteiiy days ‘Strip ootings upto Ym wideit — See Bd Regs Approved Setilement of rips or rate bearing capacity issufficent, Document A, Table Eland mustbe expected. Services, orrafts (CP 8004: 1986 entering billing must be Peatand fit Bored ples with temporary ste! ning or preeastor in-situ piles driven to firm strata below Design with ange sale Tctor Onan esr of peso fs peat or fil cooling ay Gaae a donoand nad om les (eee BRE Digests) ‘Feld tents fr bering capacity ‘dep strata or pe ding Sexe regard Suffciently flexible. In sot soils Sf variable thickness itis better to pile to firmer strata (ee Peal and fil below) TEs sound, carefully pled ‘and compacted in thin ‘ayers, Strip footings are adequate. Fils containing combustible or chemical wastes should be avoid ‘Mining and other subsidence ‘Tain rainforeed rafts for TRafte most he designed to resist Building dimensions at aight individual houses with tensile foreesas the ground anglesta the front of fong- wall, Toautbearing walls and for Surface stretenes in front of mining should eral as flexible buildings sulsidenee. A layer of granular material shouldbe placed between the ground surface and the raft to permit relative possible horizontal movernent TERE Digest 67 Sails avd foundations: AVM Santer th 62 BOER1 Where services willbe deep, the angie from the basa ofthe service french ta th base ofthe foundations should normally be sot mere than 45°. 2 Strip footing is inherently ‘dicate construct. ‘3 Tronch fills gonerally faster, ‘simpler and cheaper overall than strip footings. Table IV Allowable bearing pressure Soiltype Bearing value (Nine) Rocks Strong igneous and gnelesie rocks in sound condition 10 000 Strong limestones and etrong sandstones, 4000 hist and slates 3.000 Strong shales, strong mudstones and strong siltstones 2000 Nowechorive oils Dense gravel, or dense sand and gravel >600 ‘Medium dense grave, or medium dense sand and gravel 200 0600 Loose gravel, of lose sand and gravel <200 Compact sand >300 Medium dente sand 100 to300 Loose send (depending on looseness) 100 Cohesive soils Very stiff boulder lays and hard clays 300%0600, Stifeclays 150 t0.200 Firm clays A5t0150 Soft clays and sits a Very soft clay and sits Not applicable Peat and organic soils Not applicable ‘Made ground or fl Not applicable “Extracted from BS 8004 1086, table T Footing thickness A minimum of 150 mmis required by the Building Regulations and Codes of practice, bat the thickness must also be at least equal to the projection of the footing from the face of the wall. However, most walls now have trench fill footings, with concrete brought up to about 150'mm from ground level, 2, 8. Footing conorete To satisty the requirement for durability, the minimum Building Regulations and Code of practice requirements are a preseribed mix of grade C15P concrete to BS 5828," or a designed mix containing & rminimum of 20 kg of cement per exbie metre of concrete. A 1:2:4 mix wil also be satisfactory. Where there is acid sol, sulphates or other deleterious substances additional cement (and forthe worst conditions special cements) willbe required. Dense, well compacted concrete is vital todurability. Sulphates occur mainly in clays and marl, soll or water samples shouldbe tested at a soils laboratory. The guide to suitable mixes for eonerete in sulphate-bearing soils and ground waters is BRE Digest 250, which defines classes 1-5 of sulphate level and appropriate mix requirements. BS 8103 has a complementary table in terms ofthe standard prescribed mixes in BS 5828, In the absence of tests, the building inspector may be able to advise. Bricks with a high sulphate content should not be used in il ‘Where the trench s wet, it may be necessary to use a richer mix, placed fairly dry. Sst Construction joints Innnormal conditions, there is no need for dowels or reinforcement at construction Joints in mass conerete strip or trench fill footings. The end of the previous pour should be cleaned of soil Sloping sites Strip or trench fill footings are always placed level, with steps on slopes, 4 male Bg | faster chpapor oral Bae ees moe = ara tp | an oe 34 Service at footing eve: footing thickened ‘5 Service beneath footing: footing ‘thickened rather than baekfling tohase-f footing evel. {6 Geometry of stop in strip featings. Ties rat ‘8 More typical raft, withthe concrete edge wellelow ground level Without BPM between rat and slab, composite action of ‘slab and raft provides some stiffs. Pile and beam foundation. (This ‘example shows the upper part of the ple sleeved with sip membrane to resist uplift forces (ue to sol heave. From BRE Digest 241) Soft spots Trisimportant that the extent of soft spots be thoroughly investigated. Local soft areas can be excavated and filed with foundation conerete, or perhaps bridged by the footing reinforced with mesh or bar reinforcement, wt foe —-e 5 & se ‘ « smree » se > a ar awe 3 feng tatnco wahoee piso get Service entries Services ean generally be sleeved through. ‘trench fill foundations or the wall above strip foundations (the building inspector will ‘require a lintel over drains through walls) Where services pass through or under footings, the footing should be deeper locally and the service passed through a sleeve, 5, 6. Allowances for relative ‘movements between footings and services should be made, for example with gravel or sharp sand bed and surround to services. For depth of footings near services, see 1, Backflting Backilling to foundations and service ‘trenches ean be carried out successfully ‘with clay, but the workmanship needed for placing and compaction is too critical. Hardeore is usually too coarse for small areas. Granular material is best, placed and compacted in 150-200 mm layers Raft foundations Raft foundations serve a dual purpose: © they spread the building load over a large area, reducing the bering pressure on © their stiffness, sometimes in conjunction with the walls of the structure, reduces the potentially high differential settlement of soft compressible subsoil to level which the structure can tolerate "The simplest and cheapest raft for a small building is the thick reinforced flat slab raft, 7, bat often the exposed edge rules it out. 1¢ is also unsuitable on frost-susceptible soil and on sloping sites, ‘More usually, a combination of beams and slabs is used with varying features, {depending on the conditions, 8. Rafts are sometimes placed on a‘blanket’ | of compacted granular fill, which ean be used to take up the levels on sloping sites, help spread the load and even out the differential settlement movements. Piled foundations Piles are used to carry the loads ofthe ‘balding down to lower strata where the "upper soils provide unsuitable hearing, ‘Simple short-bored pile foundations formed by lorry-mourted auger in clay soil are comparable n cost to trench fl foundations about 1-3 m deep and have significant advantages. They are quick, ean often proceed in poor weather and ereate les general disturbance tothe site ‘compared with the trenches and spoil heaps | ‘of strip or trench fill footings. They are not ‘more generally popular not only because builders and developers are resistant to unfamiliar methods, but also because more careful prior investigation and design are needed, a separate contractor has to be co-ordinated into the work, and considerable care and experienced supervision are needed during installation. ‘There are also many situations where short-bored piles eannot be used. The many other types are more expensive, especially ‘on small projects. Most need big machines ‘which only become economic on lars projects. Noise and vibration can be serious | problems for neighbours and adjacent ‘buildings. Obstructions or boulders in the ground can be problems for the ples. BRE Digest 315 sets out types of piles.10 General distribution of firm shrinkable clas (from BRE Digest 200). 41 Example of determination of foundation depths in highly shrinkable sols, Th varous water demands can be compared With table V. The charts from [NMBL Practice Note 3 (reference Special problems ‘Shrinkable lay ‘Shrinkage and swelling in clay caused by ‘moisture changes occurs up to 1-0-1-5 m deep on open sites due to weather variations alone. Where trees and shrubs occur, the depth affected can be up to5-0 m, The main 8. areas of shrinkable clays in this country are shown in figure 20. But there are some occurrences further north, for example around Sunderland and north of Shrewsbury, Clays vary in her ‘shrinkage FaevWawdeuandwag —— potential’ which is assessed by an obscure Se eae test to measure the ‘plasticity index’, The ee shrinkage potential of some common clays Gread leaved trees is shown in table V1. High ater demand On open sites foundations must bea ies aq minimum of 1-0 m deep, but additional Winey 2 depth may be needed for future planting, Wer 38 On wooded sites or on sites where trees are oak removed, it will be necessary to found st English 20. greater depths, or use piled foundations. Holm is Red 2 os Tirkey a Poplar “Hybrid black 8 Lombardy 3% Willow Crack 24 Weeping 6 White a Moderate water demand ‘Acacia False 38 ‘Alder 38 Ash B Blackthom 8 Cherry Japanese ° wi " Hawthorn 10 Honey Locust u Hornbesm nt? oe {2 Table V Shrinkage potential of some common ck Laurel S Claytype Plasticity Clay Shrinkage Lime 22 Inder” fraction potential Maple : % ‘Japanese 8 London ‘85 Mediumvhigh Norway 18 Landon 60 High Moriah ash Bo Wea & High ne Kimmer 7 ¥ Sycamore 2 aa . Tree of Heaven 20° Boulder 3 Wainat 18 Oxford 1 8 Whitebeam 12 Reading 72 Low water demand Gaui 6B Beech 20 Gaunt 6 68 Holly 12 LowerLis = St = Birch u Magnolia 2 Claysit nw Low Mulberry 7S ‘oniters arte (dang ttn) High water demand Tees Cypress Trawson's 8 Monterey 2 Moderate rotor demand Cedar 20 Leyland eypress 2 Douglas fi 20 Pine 20 Spruce 18 Yew 2 ‘Orchard ees Moderate water demand Apple ° Cherry 5 Pear 2 lam 10 “extracted rom NHBC Practice Note 3 Guidance on the depth of footings in relation to trees is given in NHBC Practice Note 3, for example figure 11, tis necessary to establish the shrinkage potential of the clay from tests and to classify the water demand of the trees on the site according to species—table V from the Practice Note: some relief is granted for climatic variations across the country. Because shrinkage and swelling ‘movements can be horizontal as well as vertical, deep trench fill foundations are subject to the risk of lateral movement. BRE Digest 298 suggests alayer of compressible material on the sides of deep trench fill footings in certain situations to alleviate this, but in practice this looks unsatisfactory, 12. Short-bored piles avoid this problem, and on suitable sites they will be cheaper and better than deep trench fill footings. Ground beams may need to be isolated from the soil movements by compressible materials, 9. With either deep trench fill or piled foundations, suspended ‘ground floors igolated from the ground movements will be needed (see article 2, next week, for suspended floors). Growing trees cause progressive clay shrinkage. When trees are young, Foundation design must either take account of future growth or the trees should be removed. BRE Digest 298 table 2 ‘summarises the options. When trees are removed, a corresponding swelling occurs, which can be massive—150 mm was ‘measured in Windsor—and can take 10 years or more to stabilise. In this case a ‘measurement of actual soil moisture levels, can give guidance to the potential total heave. BRE Digest 298 describes a method. for carrying this out. Further general information on building on shrinkable clay is. contained in BRE Digests 240-242, Filled ground ‘The combination of low bearing capacity, high compressibility and extreme variabili of filled ground make it very unsuitable for conventional foundations, Further possible problems are aggressive substances in the {ill, methane generation and spontaneous ‘combustion, Extensive trial pit, investigations are needed to examine a large sample of the fill material and its depth and boundary must be established. ‘Approaches to building on fill are: ¢@ piled foundations. © compaction of the fil locally for foundations by ‘dynamic compaction’ (repeatedly dropping a large weight) © forming ‘stone columns” in the ground for foundations by introducing granular ‘material with a large poker vibrator removal and sorting, and then replacing and compacting the fil in thin layers. ‘These treatments are discussed more fully in article 8, next week, Even after treatment of fill, it may be necessary to use raft foundations rather than conventional foundations and to avoid Jong buildings. Building across the edge of the filled area must be avoided. Fills sueh as open cast mining spoil may be less of a problem than industrial waste or domestic refuse, but may still be subject to long term movements. The risks to construction from aggressive substances in the fill should be assessed by aa ‘Baibr of Swillatg zone New fill, if carefully selected and properly placed and compacted in thin layers, can be suitable for building development, BRE Digests 274 and 276 deal with filled ground comprehensively. Mining subsidence ‘The specialist advice of British Coal (formerly the National Coal Board) and other experts should be sought. Subsidence from older mine workings is very unpredictable although the effects of rodern ‘long-wall? methods are better known, Both vertical and horizontal (stretching ‘and compressing) ground movements take w2llegniie lager * place. For slight, predictable movement, 12 Swoting and strinkage due to specialist. The problemsare reduced above reinforced strip footings placed on a bed of trees and theicremovalwilbe the water table level. Defensive measures sand with a compressible material surround both vertical and horizontal from available include suitable concrete mix can be suitable. To accommodate greater ‘BRE Digest 298). design, suitable brick and mortar strains, flat bottomed raft foundations on specification, plastics sleeving to in-situ _polythene and sand blinding are needed, piles, coatings to precast conerete piles, __and the superstrueture will need to be plastie membranes around foundations and reinforced. Building shape is important— ‘under ground bearing slabs long buildings must be a Ground floor slabs Damp-proof membranes DP Ms need to be chosen carefully to suit the Suspended ground floor slabs circumstances, including the wetness ofthe These will be needed in many situations __site and the type of floor finish. Refer to requiring special foundations, such assoft CP 102: 1973 and BRE Digest 54 ‘ground or clay with trees. They willalso be Membranes vary in thei efficacy. Feguired where filing of more than 600 mm Polythene isthe least effective, adequate thickcis needed in order to avoid the risk of for many floor finishes which are less settlement occurring from inadequate sensitive to moisture, but not for wood, lino, compaction of the fil. In most eases, cork and soon, whieh are moisture suspended floors willbe precast plank and sensitive, Tables VII and VIII show the block floors. See article 2, next week. choice of membranes and the sensitivity of ooring materials to moisture. Ground bearing slabs Polythene placed under the slab may be Hardcore useful asa protection to conerete from Hardcore, or filing under slabs, is used to sulphates in the ground where the forma firm level base for placing the slab, _under-slab conditions are moist. 0 raising the level after removing any DPMs must be properly jointed or sealed ‘organic sil, Hardcore is generally free (800 mm lap for polythene) and continuous Araining and so also provides the first line of with the damp-proof courses in walls defence against moisture entry. Hardeore needs tobe well graded (a good mixture of Slab strength particles of diferentsizes, from 75mm Slabs on normal ground are 100 mam thick own), easily compacted and free of conerete, unreinforced. On poor ground or ‘aggressive or organic substances. Gravel, where they carry heavier loads, extra, crushed rock, quarry waste if well graded) thickness and mesh reinforcement may be and concrete rubble (if well graded) are the needed. Conerete in normal eanditions best materials. Some slags, colliery spoils, should be a preseribed mix, grade C10P to cil shale residue and pulverised fuelash ' BS 5828 ora designed mix containing (PPA) may be suitable, but they carry risks, minimum of 220 gin? of cement. A 1:24 particularly of high sulphate content, Brick mix willalso be satisfactory. Stronger Or tile rabble may be poorly graded, and mixes, possibly incorporating sulphate rmay eontain sulphate or other deleterious resisting eement, will be required where raterials or compressible rubbish. Refer to there are sulphates in the ground. Slabs BRE Digest 276 for specification of suitable should generally be east upto the face of hardcore materials walls, not across them. (Non-domestie seale ‘round bearing slabs are covered in Deep fll article 4 in this series.) Special attention needs to be paid to deep filing around foundations, 13 Sand blinding Sand blinding to hardeore or fills needed to provide a smooth surface on which to lay a polythene damp-proof course or slip ‘membrane, orto prevent the fines running ‘out ofthe conerete. It should be the minimum raid io provide eve 13 Te sk with bu surface. Ifthe fill contains voids which allow ayeredeorvobdaonneeds sand blinding to be lost, cement blinding caret supervision. should be used.“Table Vil Protection against rising damp" Waterproof flooring materiale ‘© Mastic asphalt lad to CP 204 Impervious tothe transmission of moisture n liquid or vapour form. May be used as 2 floor finish or as ‘an underlay for other forms of flooring. Ifthe base isin diret contact with the ground othe mastic asphalt flooring is acting asa damp-proof membrane or is able to be subjected to water or Water ‘vapour, a suitable glass fibre tissu isolating membrane should be used f¢ Picchmastie laid to CP 204 Impervious tothe transmission of moisture in liquid or vapour form. May be used asa flor finish oF as san underlay for other forms of flooring, May be laid direct to concrete without an isolating membrane ‘Sandivich membranes in order of protective wale) '@ Mastic asphalt to BS 1097 or BS 1418 Impervious to moistre in guid or vapour form Bitumen sheet DPC to BS 743 With joints property se ¢¢ Hot applied piteh or bitumen itisimpervious to moisturein liquid or vapour form ‘When aid on primed surface to give an average thickness of 3 mm (8 kgm?) may be regarded as impervious to moisture in liquid or vapour form. Care shouldbe taken to avoid pin holes © Cold applied bitumen solation and col tar piteh rubber or bitumenirubber emulsion Ry repeated brush application, ean form an impervious membrane. Care in workmanship and sipervision is need, asthe success ofthe membrane depends upon the minimum thickness that is up © Polythene film Sheets of at least 0-2 mm thickness are of value under floor Finishes listed in Group C of Table VI bout may not be satisfactory for Group D. “Reproduced from CP 102: 1973, ‘Tale Vl Propertios of loving materials in relation to resistance to ground moisture penetration” Materiet Finish and DPC combined (group A) Pitchmastc flooring Masticasphalt flooring May be wood without extra damp protection (gh BY Concrete Terrazzo Concrete or clay tiles Cementilatex Cementibitumen ‘Wood composition blocks (aid in cement mortar) ‘Wood blocks (dipped and lsd in hot pitch or bicumen) ‘Not necossarly rouble free without damp protection (group) ‘Thermoplastic tiles(BS 2592) Vinylashestos tiles (BS 5260) Rotable damp protection needed (group D) ‘Magnesite Flexible PYC flooring sheet or tle form (BS 3261) PVA emulsion coment Rubber Linoleum Cork. Wood Chipboard "Reproduced irom CP 102: 1978 ‘Properties Capable of resisting rising dampness ‘without dimensional or material Failre Capable of transmitting rising dampness ‘without dimensional, material or adhesion failure Capable of partially transmitting rising dampness without dimensional or material failure and generally without adhesion failure Capable of partially transmitting rising, dampness without material failure and ‘generally without dimensional or adhesion failure. Only in exceptional conditions of site dampmasi ia there risk of dimencional instability Capable of partially transmitting rising dampness through the joints without dimensional failure and generally without adhesion or material failure, Water penetration atthe joints may result in ecay at the edges in some conditions when aground water contains dissolved salts or alkalis Capable of transmitting rising dampness butadversely affected by water Impervious, but the flooring adhesive is sensitive to moisture Impervious, but dimensionally sensitive to moisture adhesive for ls leo sensitive to toisture) Impervious, but prone to abesion lure mainly through sensitivity ofits adhesive tomolstare Sensitive to alkaline moisture attack through breakdown of bond and adhesive film -Acutely sensitive to moisture with ‘imensional or materia faireRetaining walls Retaining walls resist the ‘active’ pressure ‘of the soil behind them and are prevented from sliding forwards by a combination of the ‘passive’ resistance of the sol in front of the wall and the friction on the base. In addition, they have to be safe against, overturning and slips, 20, 2, ‘The different characteristics of various soils, the presence or absence of water, site limitations on space and so on, mean that there isa very wide range of types. A downstand toe helps resist sliding, 14, 15. A base projecting behind the wall helps resist overturning by the weight of soil behind the wall and sloping front faces help the stability, 19. Gravity walts Gravity walls rely on their self-weight to resist the sol forces without any tensile stresses in the wall. Masonry gravity walls "use much material and impose high stresses: on the soil under the toe, 18, Crib walling and reinforced earth are variations of gravity wallsin which the main bulk is made up from soil, 22. A useful low-tech version is the plastic mesh reinforced bank, 19. Cantilever walls Cantilever walls can be simple brick iflow, 28, reinforeed brickwork or blockwork at intermediate heights, or reinforced conerete. Of the reinforced masonry type, the pocket brick wall is structurally efficient and cheap, 24ab. For all retaining walls, consideration should be given to drainage behind the wall, drainage at the surface on the upper level, DPCs suitable for both shearing and tensile forces (such as engineering brick) and. sulphate resistance. ‘A special ease of retaining walls occurs in situations where the building wall becomes retaining wall ata change of level. In this cease the Building Regulations permit the height retained tobe four times the wall thickness, 2s yeas Packets 295/307 oriceavort. Eases cas ig 3 moar —reintorcement| max with reinforced conerete columns 2a in vertical pockets: concrete 27m ‘rade C3SP with 10 mm Sa] ugreaate, Retrences yee "Thi Rents 1085, Approved document & Structure Aso 22S Bice 1985 Fountains, {5 BS800: 198 Cue of practice for ‘te investigation former ce 2000, TRS 19? 1976 ethodsoftet for toa or be expnaerny pura SRSb10a: Par tou0 Sractur tesgn of ierive binge Pat (Case practioner tay, tad ground oor ilk or iowa CP Ii: 1972 Foundations and “vbeructares fr monn ‘tinge nt mo FP Yon: 1978 Preeti of naling agent water rom the grow. ST egisieed howsebusers handboh Pstll Tecnica! traction of lings. ‘mendrments 19884, Prostice ‘ote 8uitaing near tree. 886. NHBC, 68 Portland Pace, Landes, WIN aU SBRE Digests 88,64, 67 Sule and Fondation: Pats OBRE Digests 240,241,242 Lowrise bangs on shrineale cing we Parte 123. BRE Digests 208 Th nftuence ‘ftrecson house fnations in 1e75 (it 2 BRE Digests 214, 275 Fl: SBRE Digest 28 Sferdore, HE BRE Digest 250 Conrete in Sulphatedearing sol and rounders y TSBRE Digest 815 Charing pler forme contration, TE BRE Digest Damp profiag ‘eld oor TBS 3528-1981 Methods af fperfyingwoneree tng