There are two major types of foundation systems which are used in building the house – shallow and deep. Shallow foundations are those foundations which are about one meter deep whereas deep foundations are immersed in the soil for construction of highly elevated buildings. Seismic isolation foundation is also there which is used in making a building tremor proof to a certain degree. Shallow foundations are best for simple house construction. Most commonly used concrete foundations in small scale structures are:
· T-shape foundation or spread footing foundation – It is that form of isolated footing where each post is poured on top of a footing foundation placed below the frost line. A wall footing slightly wider than the intended wall is then poured to connect each post or column foundation. This foundation connects every single column and foundation wall thereby making the base system very stable. After pouring the column and wall foundations, the walls are added and then finally the floor slab. This requires reinforcements in the form of steel bars.
· Slab on grade foundation - This foundation is a single layer of concrete of minimum thickness of 150mm (6 inches) to 200mm-250mm. The slab is poured thicker at the sides or edges to form a fundamental footing with reinforcing bars. The poured slab should be poured on top of several inches of gravel. It is customary for the slab to be poured on a mould set in the ground leaving no space between the ground and the structure. This sort of foundation is best used in warmer climates where there is no frost or thaw line to consider. This foundation is cheap but sturdy and may even be less susceptible to termite infestation as there are no spaces or any material leading from the ground to the main structure.
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