BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5: ALTERNATIVE

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS

STEPPED FOUNDATION

GROUP NO.9

CAMUA, PATRICK KENT B.

DELA CRUZ, AARON ROBERT S.
FULGENCIO, BIANCA MAE F.
JOMADIAO, JONICA MAE D.
YŇIGUEZ, MARCOS FRANCISCO R.
 FOUNDATION
• The foundation of a building is that part of walls, piers and
columns in direct contact with the ground and transmitting
loads to the ground.

• Because of variety of soil, rock and water conditions that are

present in different sites every construction needs a foundation
of some kind.
 MAJOR BUILDING PARTS

Superstructure

Substructure

Foundation
 STEPPED FOUNDATION
CHARACTERISTICS
• A foundation constructed in a series of steps that approximate
the slope of the bearing stratum.
• The purpose is to avoid horizontal force vectors that might
cause sliding.
• Generally provided in hilly areas.
• Classified as a shallow type of foundation.
• It is a special form of strip foundation.
 STEPPED FOUNDATION

REF: http://www.slideshare.net/bakhtzamin/foundation-29063799
 STEPPED FOUNDATION

FEATURES
• All foundations should bear horizontally on the soil.

• If strip footing to a building on a sloping site are at the same

level through out , then
– Those part of the building on the higher side will be a greater
distance below ground level.
– Require deeper trenches with a greater amount of walling in the
soil.
 STEPPED FOUNDATION

• There are two ways in which this excessive building

into the soil may be reduced.
– But “cut-and-fill” or “cut” so as to provide a
horizontal plane for which to build.
– By stepping down the slope so as to make the
foundations parallel to the slope or ground level –
stepped footing.
 STEPPED FOUNDATION

• The steps should be kept……

– Relatively short in length
– Sufficient in number along the length
– Uniform and in small height

…..or otherwise may cause differential settlement.

 STEPPED FOUNDATION
FEATURES
• Most economic procedures, as this
will reduce the amount of:
– Trench evacuation
– Backfilling
– Surplus soil removal
– Earthwork support
The building regulations for foundations give a clear list of rules under which strip foundations are suitable. This is conditional
upon the walls the foundations support which are placed centrally on their respective strip of concrete:
•a) There is no "made" ground (imported soil etc) or wide soil strength variation in the loaded area ( floor area of the construction
or "load") or weak soil patches likely to cause foundation failure.
•b) The width of the foundation strip is in accordance with Table 12 of approved document A1/2 in section E1 of the building
regulations. (This table can be found below)
•c), d) and e) deal with the chemicals in the soil and the British Standards that the concrete should meet to be approved in these
conditions. We will deal with this later.
•f) The concrete strip thickness is equal to or greater than the projection from the wall face, and never less than 150mm.
•g) The upper level of a stepped foundation overlaps the lower level by twice the height of the step, by the thickness of the
foundation or by 300mm. Whichever is the greater.
•h) The height of the step is not greater than the thickness of the foundation.
•I) The foundation strip projects beyond the faces of any pier, buttress or chimney forming part of a wall by at least as much as it
projects beyond the face of the wall proper.

Step Foundations
 Steps
•Steps in foundations can be used on sloping sites to minimise the amount of excavation and materials required by accommodating
the change in levels.
•The height of a step should not exceed the thickness of the foundation (see below). In clay soils near trees steps should not
exceed 0.5m.

And for Trench Fill:

Standard Concrete Mixes
St2 mix for strip footings*
An St2 mix to give 1 m³ of concrete having 100-
150mm slump:
285 kg Portland Cement
735 kg Concreting Sand
1105 kg Aggregate
St2 mix for trench fill foundations*
An St2 mix to give 1 m³ of concrete having 160-
210mm slump:
300 kg Portland Cement
725 kg Concreting Sand
1080 kg Coarse Aggregate
* Recommendations for 20mm maximum
aggregate size (assumes cement of standard
strength class 32.5).
'Standard Concrete Mixes' Table: BRE Good
Building Guide GBG53, 'Foundations for low-
rise building extensions'.
STEPPED FOUNDATION
PROCESS
 The size and depth of a foundation is determined by the
structure and size of a building it supports and the nature
and bearing capacity of the ground supporting it.

Super-structure
Ground Level

foundation

Distribute building load to the ground

STEPPED FOUNDATION
APPLICATION
STEPPED FOUNDATION
ADVANTAGES
STEPPED FOUNDATION
DISADVANTAGES
STEPPED FOUNDATION
COMPARISON
 REFERENCES
• http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/fari
dahyusuf-1708488-types-foundation
/
• http://
www.slideshare.net/bakhtzamin/foundation-29
063799
• http://
www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/strip-foundatio
n.htm
• http://
• http://
civilconstructiontips.blogspot.com/2011/06/fo
undations-on-sloping-sites.html
• http://
www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Concrete-Foundati
on