STRIP FOUNDATION AS A REASONABLE SOLUTION

FOR A RESIDENTIAL HOUSE

How to build a house > Foundation

Strip foundation is a continuous concrete strip on which load bearing walls are built centrally. This
represents a level base for the walls and its dimensions must be sufficient to allocate the load imparted
to the foundation to subsoil area capable of supporting the building weight without excessive
compaction. Today, for foundations developers mainly use concrete as it is easy to place, spread and
level in the foundation trench. Due to its ability to harden concrete creates a basis for walls and
develops proper compressive strength to support the foundations’ load. Previously, strip foundations
were made of brick. They were installed directly onto firm subsoil or erected on a bed laid of natural
stones.

What is strip foundation width? It is

predetermined by the bearing capacity of soils and by the alleged load. The greater load bearing
capacity of the soil is the less the foundation width is needed for the same design.

If the strip foundation should be built on a sloping area, you will probably need to create a stepped
structure. In order to properly step the foundation, total thickness of the top part of the foundation
should be double the step height; or it must equal to 12 inches, if greater. To avoid possible need to cut
blocks or bricks as well as to ensure stability of the future wall, the brickwork or blockwork performed
later on is to tie in directly at the step.
Deep strip foundation is known as the most used type and it is the cheapest method when the soil
conditions are appropriate. A strip of reinforced concrete supports the walls. Depth of the trench can
range, although it should be at least 40 inches deep 24 inches wide. The minimal depth of concrete
should be 9 inches.

The foundation width is determined by the specifics of soil but the conventional minimum is 18 inches.
However, your builder is likely to specify 24 inches; this is a conventional width applied for construction
of two-storey houses.

Wide strip foundation. Foundation structures built on subsoils that have poor bearing capacity, for
instance, soft sandy clays, must be significantly wider than the traditional strip foundations as it is
necessary to allocate the load to a greater area of subsoil for higher stability. Excessive increasing of the
width and depth of the structure in order to prevent wall shearing is not economically grounded. A
reasonable option is to build a foundation using reinforced concrete. Reinforcing bars add tensile
property to the foundation making the whole structure capable of withstanding tension and
compression affect.

Advantages and disadvantages of strip foundations

Strip foundation has both positive and negative qualities. The positive may include simplicity of design,
the possibility to build the foundation without expensive tools as well as its long-term operation. The
negative qualities consist in a comparatively low durability, high cost in the final stages of construction
(you must perform additional manual work, such as filling soil between the strips and its leveling,
building floor and so on), inability to make monolithic binding of the floor to the basement.

When can a strip

foundation be used?
You can look through the building regulations to find out conditions under which strip foundation can be
used. Note the following in detail:

1. When planning the construction, consider the required width of the foundation strip denoted in
building regulations.

2. The concrete solution should meet the requirements of compatibility with the soil chemicals.

3. The thickness of the concrete strip should equal to or exceed the projection of the external side of the
wall, but not less than 6 inches.

4. The step height shouldn’t exceed the thickness of the foundation.

5. The foundation strip protrudes beyond the edge of piers, chimney forming side of the wall as much as
it protrudes beyond the exterior surface of the wall.

Partitioning

Remove debris from the place and start partitioning by putting on the ground both external and internal
borders of the future
foundation. Use pegs or
reinforcement bars and
ropes.

When marking is done, you

should explore variations on
the surface of the
construction site and select
the lowest point to refer to
when marking depth of the
trench and to eliminate
difference in the foundation
height.

Preparation for construction of a strip foundation

1. When the trench is ready, fill in a sandy base supplemented with gravel on the bottom.
2. Foundation formwork is made of planed boards with a thickness of approximately 40-50 mm. When
erecting the formwork, you should monitor its verticality all the time. The recommended projection of
the frame above the ground is 12 inches. It is necessary to build a small base.

3. The next step is building foundation reinforcement. Reinforcing bars with 10-12 mm section are
bound with specifically designed binding wire so that the sides of square cells were equal to 12-16
inches. For the reinforcement you can use either steel or fiberglass reinforcing bars. When placing the
reinforcement in the trench, watch indents from the edges. Optimum padding is 50 mm. In this case, the
reinforcement will be most effectively located in the monolith.

Pouring concrete strip foundation

Pouring concrete is carried out immediately in the case of ready-mixed concrete or in layers, if the
concrete is prepared independently.

1. Preparation of concrete: cement is mixed with sieved river sand in the ratio of 1:2 – 1:2.5, and diluted
with water to a liquid cream consistency, after which it is poured onto the prepared gravel. The amount
of rubble corresponds to that of sand. Stir the mixture so that all the rubble got moistened with a
solution.

2. Pour the concrete into the prepared formwork. Pierce the concrete in several places using a metal bar
and compact it with a wooden block to remove the remnants of the air from the voids.

3. Pour the concrete to the level indicated on the formwork. Thus rattle the formwork from the outside
for better slump of concrete.

4. The top layer is aligned with a rule or trowel.

5. Dust the concrete with sifted dry cement; you can do it through a sieve. This method lets top layer of
concrete harden a bit and prevents its erosion and cracking.

6. Cover the concrete with burlap or covering material and leave for 3-4 weeks. In dry weather, you
need to moisten the top layer of concrete to prevent it from drying out.

What is Pad Foundation? Design

Principles,Types and Selection
Pad foundations are a form of spread foundation formed by rectangular, square, or sometimes circular
concrete 'pads' that support localised single-point loads such as structural columns, groups of columns
or framed structures. ... Pad foundations can also be used to support ground beams.
What is Pad Foundation?

The pad foundations are shallow foundation that take and spread point loads to the soil safely. The pad

foundation are preferred if the soil at the site have sufficient strength and is not too deep to construct.
The thickness of pad foundations are generally uniform. In some situations the upper surface can be
stepped or sloped.The design of pad foundation is simple and straight which makes them an economic
solution.

Design Principle of Pad Foundation

As defined, the pad foundation is supposed to spread the concentrated load safely to the bearing
stratum. Hence, pad foundation must be designed stiff so that uniform spreading of the load to the soil
must happen without making the foundation pressure exceed the permissible bearing stress. This
requirement is achieved by either reinforcing the pad or making the pad deep. Both the methods helps
to spread the force in a predefined angle.

The angle of spreading is determined based on te bearing capacity of the underlying soil and the
concrete strength. The size of the pad must be such that tension need to be prevented within the
concrete so that no cracking is caused, which will result in failure.
The ability to resist the punching shear is the governing criteria that determines the depth of reinforced
concrete pad foundations. Another important factor governing the depth of pad is the ability to resist
the bending.

The pad foundation arrangement is mainly dependent on the load bearing capacity of the soil, the
structure to be supported, available space and the imposed loads. Based on these factors the “pads” can
be arranged as:

Separate discrete pads

Base pads that are balanced. This will supposed more than one point loads

Continuous pads

Series of pads supporting a continuous beam

Types of Pad Foundations

Pad foundations are generally rectangular or square foundation to transfer load from structure to the
ground. These are provided at shallow depth and are shallow foundations.

Read More : Foundations

The major types of foundations are:

1. Plain Concrete

2. Reinforced Concrete

3. Continuous Pad foundation

4. Combined Pad Foundation

5. Pad and Ground Beam Foundation

1. Plain Concrete Pad Foundation

Plain concrete is non- reinforced concrete pad foundation which is an economic option where the
loading is relatively light as T must equal P ( As shown in figure-1 below) otherwise excessively thick pads
are needed which is not economic. The selected depth of the pad must be equal to the distance
between the vertical element face and the edge of the pad on both the sides.

Fig.1:Plain concrete pad foundation

2. Reinforced Concrete Pad Foundations

Reinforced concrete enables relatively wide but shallow foundations, often designed to be square plan
area to make the reinforcing cage easier to construct and place. Rectangular pads are used for
eccentric/inclined loading (longer dimension parallel to direction of inclination/eccentricity). The
thickness demanded by these type of foundation will be less.

Fig.2: Reinforced concrete pad foundations

3. Combined Pad Foundations

Combined pad foundations are adopted close to a site boundary to enable the balancing effect of an
internal column to be incorporated.

Fig.3: Combined pad foundation

The existence of a service or a utility may restrict the extension of the pad foundation. As shown in the
figure above, the pad of the external column will be connected to the internal column pad. This will help
to counterbalance the loads coming.

4. Continuous Pad Foundations

Continuous pad exists when pads and the columns they support are fairly closely spaced. Extending the
reinforcing between pads ensures longitudinal stiffness. This technique helps in resisting the differential
settlement.

Fig.5: Continuous pad foundations

5. Pad and Ground Beam

Pad and ground beam comprises smaller isolated pads are connected by ground beams to provide
structural rigidity.

Fig.6: Pad foundation with continuous beam

The technique helps in improving the integrity along with balancing the eccentric loads.

Selection of Type of Pad Foundation

Among different pad foundations explained, the selection is based on the following factors:

1. The safe bearing capacity of the soil

2. The load to be supported

3. The Column arrangement

4. Site conditions

5. Accessibility

6. Subsurface conditions
7. The depth of water table

8. Cost Conditions