Shallow Foundations

Shallow foundations, often called footings, are situated beneath the lowest part of the structure. A footing is the first constructed element of a structure which is built after excavating the ground. In general, the depth of a shallow foundation is less than its width.

Shallow foundations are commonly used as they are the most economical foundation system and are relatively easy to construct. A careful investigation of the foundation site and detailed information of the subsurface stratum is necessary to design the foundation and avoid any future degradation of the foundation performance.

Design Requirements

Shallow foundations must meet certain design requirements:

• Safety against bearing capacity, i.e., shear strength exceedance of the underlying soil;
• Control of the excessive settlements that can be damaging to the overlying structure, or affect functionality.

Types

The different types of shallow foundations are:

• Spread or Isolated Footing;
• Strip Foundation;
• Mat or Raft Foundation;
• Combined Foundation.