Figure 1-7.—wall and column foundations.Figure 1-8.—Plan and section of a typical spread footing.ground. The foundation wall, contrary to its name, maybe a column or a pedestal instead of a wall. But, whenit is a wall, it forms what is known as a continuousfoundation. Figure 1-7 shows common types of walland column foundations.The continuous foundation is the type of foundationthat is most commonly used for small buildings. The sizeof the footing and the thickness of the foundation wallare specified on the basis of the type of soil at the site.Most building codes also require that the bottom of thefooting be horizontal and that any slopes becompensated for by stepping the bottom of the footing.Another type of foundationfoundation. A grade beam is ais the grade-beamreinforced concreteFigure 1-9.—Plan and section of a mat foundation.beam located at grade level around the entire perimeterof a building, and it is supported by a series of concretepiers extending into undisturbed soil. The building loadsare supported by the grade beam, which distributes theload to the piers. The piers then distribute the load to thefoundation bedA spread foundation, such as the one shown infigure 1-8, is often required where heavy concentratedloads from columns, girders, or roof trusses are located.This type of foundation may be located under isolatedcolumns or at intervals along a wall where theconcentrated loads occur. Spread footings are generallyreinforced with steel. They may be flat, stepped, orsloped, such as shown in figure 1-7.Figure 1-9 shows the plan and section of a typicalmat foundation. In this type of foundation, a heavilyreinforced concrete slab extends under the entirebuilding and distributes the total building load over theentire site. This minimizes problems created by unequalsettlement when the subsoil conditions are uneven. Themat foundation is often referred to as a floatingfoundation.PILE CONSTRUCTIONPiles include many different types and materials.The following text discusses the more common types.1-6
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