Which is the best type of Foundation used for Residential construction?

The structural engineer is the most competent person who can decide the type of foundation to be used. There are many criteria's that needs to be fulfilled before finalising the type of foundations such as:

1) whether you are building a load-bearing structure or a RCC framed structure.

2) The soil condition and at what depth the strata is available will help you in deciding whether you should go for isolated footing, raft foundation or pile foundation.

3) The planning of the structure also is an important criteria. If you need a basement then you will have to go for a raft foundation, which is generally taken if the soil condition is not good and the strata is at greater depths. Also if two columns are coming quite close then you might have to go for combined/stepped footings.

So my suggestion is that you leave it to the structural engineer who will analyze the site conditions and suggest the right kind of foundation for your house.

Hey, Sonali good that u asked this question, because many of us unknowingly make serious mistakes while building the foundation..

Here is what you should do...

If you want a strong residential foundation, make sure you follow the tips below. Use reinforcing steel, don't backfill too soon and leave poured concrete forms in place a couple days after pouring concrete.

Give serious consideration to installing vertical reinforcing rods in your foundations. Most building codes insist that you install horizontal steel bars near the top and bottom of your walls. However, virtually no code (except earthquake areas) requires the placement of vertical steel. In the event that your foundation cracks, I guarantee that it will cost you many times more money to repair the crack than to have installed the steel in the first place.

NEVER backfill a foundation until both the basement slab and the first floor subfloor assembly are in place. These two elements are critical. They are the top and bottom of the "box."

Wait as long as possible to backfill. Concrete or concrete blocks develop strength over time. In fact,under ideal conditions, they often achieve only 75% of their design strength after 28 days!

Negotiate with your builder or foundation contractor to leave forms in place for three to four days if possible. Removing forms the day after the pour subjects the fresh concrete to rapid moisture loss. The concrete needs water for it to gain its maximum strength. During hot or windy weather, consider applying a curing compound to the walls immediately as the forms are removed.

Hope this will solve your problem

Thank you

A good foundation design  must be structurally sound to prevent water and moisture problem and to controll termites and random as well. Apart from,insulating any type of foundation,creates more comfortable condition in below -grade space as well making it more useable for a variety of purposes at a relatively low cost Raising basment temperature by using insulation can also reduce condensation thus minimising problem with mold and mildew.Potential adwantages like,reduced home owners utility bills,moisture,termite controll, serious health affects due to soil gas,most comfotable above grade space, for house with basement,comfortable condition below grade  are selling points.

I really don't know ....but I guess  I can go for any foundation that is proper & strong & will last a longer period...

So, plz help me out   :D

Making foundation depends in many factors, specialy it should be desided either it in earth quake zone or non earth quake zone.Depends upon the condition of soil, and height and chrector of the structure. without knowing all this factors giving suggessions is not as per engineering practise.

A. CHANDA

GENERAL MANAGER

ADIVION CONSULTANCY SERVICES PVT. LTD.KOLKATA

The foundation are desiged by structural designer.the structure is most important factor of building.before designing foundation the structure designer has to check the type of soil and have to check soil bearing capacity and have to go for compaction test the sil capacity 95%should come the steel used in building should also be seen according to standard should be checked by you

Following factors are to be taken in consideration :-

Soil conditions or starta.

Type of building .

Weather conditions in the particular area where construction is to be carried out. 

After considering all these factors foundation will be decided.

Pile, raft, reinforcement, shocks why so big big things yaar. You can also go for simple footings made by bricks to support your walls which will transfer all the load of your house to foundation.

But as every body else said...T&C apply.

Finallise your Plan .Consult Geotechnical Eng, get Soil test Report.Geo technical Eng will give Recomendation For type of Foundation.Then Based on this Report Structural Eng Will Design Foundation & upper Str. 

FOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS SIMPLE FOUNDATION WITH COLUMNS(PILLARS), BEAMS, IS QUITE ADEQUATE.

ONLY THING U HAVE TO ENSURE IS THE AVAILABILITY OF HARD SOIL STRATA.

IF HARD STRATA IS AVAILABLE AT REASONABLE DEPTH, THE COLUMN FOOTINGS WILL B NORMAL SIZE, SAY 1 TO 1.5 M SQURE SIZE

IF THE SOIL IS LOOSE, THE SIZE OF THE FOOTING GETS INCREASED BY ABOUT 50%.

if it is a single floor on hard soil, load bearing wall type is ok.

otherwise pillars and beam type should be adopted

For an individual owned residential building, normally isolated footing should be sufficient, unless it's a palacial house with basement or it being constructed on a filled up land etc.

But my advice would be to get in touch with a practising structural engineer, show him / her the site, the building plans and follow his / her advice on this matter.

Sonali Hi First U Have to know about soil excluding black cottan yellow or hard stata no problem u can go with frame structure (footing) but in black cotton (kali mitti) u have to take much care go depth 7 to 8 feet if soil properties not changed than u keep pcc with sand filling of 150mm layer than PCC Than Footing column & also done one couse of sand filling in Floor Before PCC it will make just like cussion to ur house

Foundations are done to pass on  the structural load into Earth Strata.  we have to decide what is the structure how much load it is going to pass on. Now Strata: what is the Strata what is the  load bearing capacity of the strata. Generally Our structural designers are comfortable with point loaded isolated footing system. Using concrete in foundation is good.

hi .............hire a  rcc  consultant familiar with the area u r constructing your house.

G+1 or G+2 structures are small enough to be taken care by isolated footngs.

soil condition is the most important factor to be considered  and also find out about the seismic zone details of the area.

A local consultant would be the best person to guide and you will also achieve economy with a lot of time saved from your busy schedule.

good luck .........do remember us for house warming.

Dear Sonali,

1. Foundations for specific ground conditions are to be designed by the Structural Engineer based on inputs from the Architect and Geotechnical Consultant
2. Rules of thumb should not be used to finalise the kind or constituents of the foundation

Please refer to the Structural Consultants for a solid solution.

SARIN