AR 162-1P BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 2

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SUPER STRUCTURE the part of a building or construction entirely above its foundation or basement. ...
any construction built above the main deck of a vessel as an upward continuation of the sides.
SUBSTRUCTURE is the part of a building or other structure which is below the ground, unlike the
superstructure which is above the ground. Typical stages or elements of the substructure, such as
foundations.
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FOUNDATION - the lowest load-bearing part of a building, typically below ground level.
PURPOSE:
1. To provide the structure's stability from the ground;
2. To distribute the weight of the structure over a large area to avoid overloading the
underlying soil possibly causing uneven settlement.
At a minimum, any foundation must:
 Support the structure above
 Keep out groundwater
 Act as a barrier to water and soil vapor.
TYPES OF FOUNDATION SYSTEM:
1. shallow foundations and
2. deep foundations.

The words shallow and deep refer to the depth of soil in which the foundation is made.
- Shallow foundations can be made in depths of as little as 3ft (1m), shallow foundations
are used for small, light buildings
- Deep foundations can be made at depths of 60 - 200ft (20 - 65m)., deep foundations
are for large, heavy buildings.

Where to Provide Shallow foundation and Deep foundation?

Foundations may be shallow or deep foundations depending upon the load and type of
foundation soil. If the load to be supported is very high and soil is of low bearing capacity, Deep
foundations are provided. If the soil has adequate bearing capacity at reasonable depth then
shallow footings are provided.

SHALLOW FOUNDATIONS
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Shallow foundations are also called spread footings or open footings. The 'open' refers to the
foundations are made by first excavating all the earth till the bottom of the footing, and then
constructing the footing. During the early stages of work, the entire footing is visible, and is
therefore called an open foundation. The idea is that each footing takes the concentrated load of
the column and spreads it out over a large area, so that the actual weight on the soil does not
exceed the safe bearing capacity of the soil.

Three Types of Foundation (SHALLOW SYSTEM)

 concrete slab-on-grade,
 crawlspace,
 full or daylight basement
 1. CONCRETE SLAB ON GRADE FOUNDATION - A type of foundation with a concrete floor slab
which is placed directly on the soil to support walls and other structural elements.

After the blocks are laid all internal piping is installed. Then a rock filler is added, followed by four inches
of concrete poured on top.

Pictured: The same home, with a slab foundation, after the footers have been poured and block laid. At
this stage, it is ready for the plumbing to be run, full rock added and then the concrete poured.

ADVANTAGES OF A CONCRETE SLAB FOUNDATION

 Price: Generally, slab foundations are your cheapest option when it comes to foundations, an
excellent choice if budget is front-of-mind.
 Low Maintenance: Of all foundation-types, slabs require the least amount of maintenance,
adding to their pricing value.

DISADVANTAGES OF A CONCRETE SLAB FOUNDATION

 Potentially Expensive Repairs: Plumbing systems are buried below the slab, making foundation
repair costly as you’ll have to first break through the concrete slab to reach the piping. However,
with the new technology, like plumbing systems, increasingly used by builders, the eventual
need to access below your slab is far less likely than in the past.
 Bad Weather: Slabs offer minimal protection to your home from storms and other inclement
weather events.
Thing to consider:
As with all foundations, builders should always ensure proper drainage away from the structure
to ensure protection from moisture and runoff damage.

2. CRAWL SPACE FOUNDATION - Homes with a crawl space foundation are elevated a few feet off
the ground. Like a slab, a footing is poured, then blocks are laid to create the foundation to
support the walls of the structure. Building a crawl space foundation will save on cost compared
to a basement, but not necessarily time, as they take about as much time to build as a full
basement foundation.
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ADVANTAGES OF A CRAWL SPACE FOUNDATION
 Accessible Utilities: Resolving the slab’s biggest drawback, a crawl space facilitates easier access
to your home’s wiring, piping, and ductwork, making for easy repairs and future upgrades.
 Warmer Floors: Unlike a slab foundation, the first floor of a home built on a crawl space won’t
feel like it’s built on concrete. In fact, the floors tend to be warmer because crawl space is
conditioned.

DISADVANTAGES OF A CRAWL SPACE FOUNDATION

 Prone to Moisture: Even with the installation of cutting-edge vapor barriers, it is still possible for
crawl spaces to support the growth of mold and fungi. You’ll want to keep an eye on your crawl
space for this reason. In the case of Reinbrecht Homes, our conditioned crawl spaces further
help to moisture problems at bay.
 Little Protection from Storms: Like slab foundations, crawl spaces offer the structure of your
home little-to-no protection from inclement weather.

3. BASEMENT FOUNDATION
A basement, in literal terms, is an eight-foot (or deeper) hole that ends in a concrete slab.For a long
time, basement walls were built with cinder blocks. As a result, they were prone to structural failures
and leaks as they aged. These days, all are built with poured concrete walls, which have virtually
eliminated most foundation problems related to structural integrity and moisture permeation.
Basements are excellent for anchoring a property to the ground while extending the foundation below
the area’s frost line, which helps maintain the integrity of the foundation over time.

ADVANTAGES OF A BASEMENT FOUNDATION

 More, Cheap Square Footage: Arguably the greatest advantage to a basement foundation is the
additional square-footage gained — and at a much lower cost per square foot than other parts
of the home.
 Seasonal Living Space: Great for smaller-footprint homes, the addition of a finished basement
creates energy-efficient living spaces that pair well with changing seasons, staying warm in
winter and cool in summer.
 Easy-Access for Repairs: It goes without saying that it’s easier (and cheaper) for technicians to
make repairs to your home’s utilities standing up rather than crawling in a crawl space or
digging into a slab.
 Storm Protection: For both you, the residents, as well as your home. Basements make great
shelters from the worst mother nature can throw at you, while still providing a solid anchor for
your home.
DISADVANTAGES OF A BASEMENT FOUNDATION

 Increased Foundation Cost: A basement is understandably the most expensive foundation-type

of the three mentioned here — more so if you choose to finish that space. Even then, that
finished basement square footage will most likely be the least expensive in your entire home.
 Potential Flooding: Without a sump pump, you may end up with a flooded basement. To
combat (and virtually eliminate the threat of) flooding, we recommend battery backup,
generators or water-flow backups. In all cases, though, the best scenario to prevent potential
flooding is ensuring a natural path for drainage.
 Lack of Natural Light: If you’re converting your basement into a living space, and it’s NOT a
walkout, you might have to find creative ways of bringing some light into the space. Again, this
isn’t an issue with walkout basements.

 
A walkout basement just after the floor was poured.

Difference between footings and foundations:

Footing is a part of foundation which is constructed with concrete or brickwork masonry and
acts as a base to the floor columns and floor walls. The main function of footing is to transfer the vertical
loads directly to the soil. The term footing is used in conjunction with Shallow foundation.
 DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOOTING FOUNDATION
1. ISOLATED FOOTINGS
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Isolated footings (also known as Pad or Spread footings) are commonly used for
shallow foundations to carry and spread concentrated loads. Footings are an important part of
foundation construction. They are typically made of concrete with rebar reinforcement that has been
poured into an excavated trench.
Footings which are provided under each column independently are called as Isolated footings.
They are usually square, rectangular or circular in section. Before laying the footing, termite control
liquid is sprayed on top face of the soil to restrict the termites to damage the footing. Isolated footings
are provided where the soil bearing capacity is generally high and it comprises of a thick slab which may
be flat or stepped or sloped. This type of footings are most economical when compared with the other
kind of footings.

Individual footings awaiting concreting of the footing column.

Individual footings are one of the most simple and common types of foundations.  These are
used when the load of the building is carried by columns. Usually, each column will have its own footing.
The footing is just a square or rectangular pad of concrete on which the column sits. To get a very rough
idea of the size of the footing, the engineer will take the total load on the column and divide it by the
safe bearing capacity (SBC) of the soil.
 Individual footings connected by a plinth/grade beam. Note that the footings have been cast on
top of beds of plain cement concrete (PCC), which has been done to create a level, firm base for the
footing. Individual footings are usually connected by a plinth beam / grade beam, a horizontal/tie beam
that is built below ground level.

Advantages of Isolated Footing:-

1. Economical when columns are placed at longer distances.
2. Workmen with little or no knowledge can easily construct.
3. Ease of Constructability:- Excavation, Form-work, Reinforcement placement and placing
of Concrete is at ease.

a. Flat or Pad or Plain or Simple footing:-

These kind of footings are generally square or rectangular or circular in shape which are provided under
each column independently. Flat or Pad  Footing is one of the Shallow Foundations. It is circular, square
or rectangular slab of uniform thickness.
b. Stepped footing:-
These types of footings are constructed in olden days now they are outdated. As from the name its
resembling that, footings are stacked upon one another as steps. Three concrete cross sections are
stacked upon each other and forms as a steps.  This type of footings are also called as a Step foundation.
Stepped footing is used generally in residential buildings.
c. Sloped Footing:-
Sloped footings are trapezoidal footings. They are  designed and constructed with great care to see that
the top slope of 45 degree  is maintained from all sides.  When compared the trapezoidal footing with
the flat footing, the usage of concrete is less. Thus, it reduces the cost of footing in concrete as well as
reinforcement.

d. Cantilevered or eccentric footing –

Shoe footing is the half cut-out from the original footing and it has a shape of shoe. They are
constructed on property boundary, where there is no provision of setback area. It is constructed at the
corner of the plot when the exterior column is close to the boundary or property line and hence there is
no scope to project footing much beyond the column face.. Column is provided or loaded at the edges of
shoe footing. Shoe footings are constructed when the soil bearing capacity is 24KN/m2

2. Combined footing
A footing which has more than one column is called as combined footing.  This kind of footing is
adopted when there is a limited space. Due to lack of space we cannot cast individual footing, Therefore
footings are combined in one footing. They are classified into two types based on their shape:

2.1 Rectangular combined footing.

 2.2 Trapezoidal combined footing.

3. STRIP FOOTINGS

Strip footings are commonly found in load-bearing masonry construction, and act as a long strip that
supports the weight of an entire wall.  These are used where the building loads are carried by entire
walls rather than isolated columns, such as in older buildings made of masonry
.
1. Strip foundations (continuous footings) can be used for most subsoils, but are most suitable for
soil which is of relatively good bearing capacity. They are particularly suited to light structural
loadings such as those found in many low-rises or medium-rise domestic buildings – where mass
concrete strip foundations can be used. Footing usually has twice the width as the load-bearing
wall, sometimes it is even wider.
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Wall/strip footing bears on soil and transmits the weight of the wall directly into the ground.
Raft Foundations, also called Mat Foundations, are most often used when basements are to be
constructed. In a raft, the entire basement floor slab acts as the foundation; the weight of the building is
spread evenly over the entire footprint of the building. It is called a raft because the building is like a
vessel that 'floats' in a sea of soil.

Mat Foundations are used where the soil is weak, and therefore building loads have to be spread over a
large area, or where columns are closely spaced, which means that if individual footings were used, they
would touch each other.

 Reinforced concrete column

 is a structural member designed to carry compressive loads, composed of concrete with an
embedded steel frame to provide reinforcement. For design purposes, the columns are separated into
two categories: short columns and slender columns.
Minimum size of an RCC column should not be less than 9” x 12” (225mm x 300mm) with 4 bars of 12
MM Fe415 Steel. These days the minimum I use in my projects is 9″ x 12″ (225 mm x 300mm) with 6
bars of 12 MM Fe500 steel. You can never go wrong with strong columns

What is the standard size of column for 2 storey house? = 230mm x 300mm

Column size for 2 storey (G+1) building:- For this general thumb rule, we will assume a structure of G+1
(2 storey) building, using standard 5″ walls, size of an RCC column should be 9”x 12” (230mm x 300mm)
with 6 bars of 12mm def.steel bar with 10mm. stirrups at .20m C/C.
 Reinforced Concrete Column Construction

PLINTH BEAM :

The beam which is provided at the plinth level is called plinth beam. In farmed structure, this beam is
the first beam constructed after foundation. The purpose of plinth beam is to distribute loads of walls
over the foundation and it also connect all the columns. It also prevents cracks from the foundation to
the wall. It also avoid differential settlement.
TIE BEAM :

The beam which connects two or more columns/rafters in a roof/roof truss or in any height above floor
level is called tie beam. Tie beams are mainly provided in roof truss and at plinth level. These beams do
not convey any floor loads and only act as length breaker for columns where the floor height is unusually
high. The main purpose of tie beam is to carry axial compression and to transfer the rafters load to the
column. It also prevents column from buckling.

GRADE BEAMS :

They are commonly concrete beams which are designed to act as horizontal ties between footings or
pile caps. They should be reinforced with continuous reinforcement that is developed within or beyond
the supported column, or be anchored within the pile cap or footing.