When creating buildings and structures different kinds of foundations are required. Depending on the type of property being constructed different foundations such as Deep Foundations and Shallow Foundations can be laid to provide support.

The following article contains information on how different kinds of deep foundations and shallow foundations are laid and the different uses they have.

Shallow Building Foundations

There are several different types of shallow foundations used today.

• Spread Footing Foundation is used widely in basement or commercial buildings. Spread Footing Foundations consist of strips of concrete that transfer loads from the walls to the soil.
• Mat Slab Foundations are another form of shallow foundation used for larger scale buildings. Mat Slab Foundations can be up to several meters thick, although this tends to be mainly in for use in High Rise Buildings. This type of shallow foundations when used in a high rise building would need to be greatly reinforced to ensure there was an even distribution of weight through out.
• Slab on Grade Foundations are another option for shallow foundations. Slab on grade foundations consists of a mould that is placed into the ground and then filled with cement. Although seen as an easier option slab on grade foundations are only suitable for use in certain areas where ground freeze and thawing is not an issue.

Deep Foundations

As with the shallow foundations there are several kinds of deep foundations as well suitable for different purposes. Deep foundations need to be used on buildings that have great amounts of weight to distribute and also when there is unstable ground to be built on.

This is because the deep foundations go deep enough to find stable ground that they can then build securely on.

One type of deep foundations used is the Cast In Drilled Hole Piles (CIDH piles) and with this method there is the dry boring and wet boring.

• Dry Boring utilises a temporary casing used to protect the drill against any wet or unstable ground. Once drilled to the required depth there is a reinforced cage introduced and this is when the concrete is poured in up to the right level.
• Wet Boring involves a digging bucket which is used to dig while the casing is used as with the dry to support. When the correct depth has been reached the casing will be removed and the concrete poured in using tremie pipe. It is possible for the foundations to reach as far as 50 meters deep if required to do so.

There are many other types of deep foundations depending on the requirements and condition of the ground being built upon.

Choosing the Right Foundation for a New Building

The type of foundation to be used should be decided by the professional that is carrying out the work as some forms of foundation may not be suitable for your land being built on.

Also you should ensure the person laying your foundations is fully qualified to do so because if your foundations are laid wrong it could cause all kinds of problems including things such as subsidence.