a A Concrete ) Beth Cement foundations for - farm buildings Maurice M. Barnes asc(agric),CEng, MIAgrE ‘Second edition Introduction ‘There are a few very simple rules to determine how thick and how wide concrete foundations ‘or walls should be, and how deep they should 9 into the ground: x (see Figure 1) must not be greater than f; Figure t. the footing must be wide enough to spread the imposed load over a large enough area so that settlement or movement will not cause damage to the building or threaten its stabi it must be beep enough into the ground to safeguard the building against damage by swoling, shrinkage or freezing of the subsoil The concrete must not only be correctly proportioned (see 8) but must also be capable of resisting attack by sulphates and other chemicals which may be present inthe sort blockwork may also need protection. The Local ‘Authority surveyor will probably be able to ‘advise on the soll conditions in the area and on the precautions required. (See also Farm Note 7: Concrete mixes for farm use ~ details ofthis and other C&CA publications are given in 12) Often the floor slab is laid before the walls are bull In such cases a foundation consisting of a thickened edge to the slab can be used (see 4), If the ground level on the site has been raised by fil material, it may be necessary to carry the foundations down into the undisturbed ground below. Effect of soil type on foundations Minimum depth a Oncclays of all types, the bottom of the foundation should normally lie at least 1m below ground level. On soils which are susceptible to frost and tend to expand and contract with ‘reezing and thawing, such as sit, chalk and silty sands, this depth shouid be 450 mm. In sandy soils and gravels the recommended depth is 350 mm, d- The concrete should all be well above the ground water level if possible, especially in sandy soil (see 6) Width ‘The table gives the minimum wiaths of foundations recommended for various types of soil and for three values of wall loading. For normal blockwork, these loadings can be related to the height of the wall (see first footnote); thus, for a 4m high wall not supporting any part of the roof structure, founded in soft clay, the minimum foundation width is 650 mm. Thickness a The concrete should not be less than 150 mm thick b In most circumstances the minimum thickness will be determined by the width of the wall, the type of soil, and the requirement that x should not be greater than { (Figure 1). Thus, for a150 mm thick wall in soft clay (foundation width Thickened slab foundations 650 mm} ‘The minimum thickness t must therefore also. -—-~O sls of low bearing pressure, such as the so!t be 250 mm, clays with interbedded peat layers of the East Anglian fens, a common type of foundation consists Strip foundations of a thickening of the floor slab (Figure 4). Its use may also be economical on other sos The edge should be at least 950 mm tick. and Up to 450 mm thick on frost-susceptile sols Strip footing The slab shoud extend atleast 100 mm ‘The wal rests ona relatvely tun concrete pad Re ete eee eee (Figure 2) Ths type 1s more economical in metenals and is probably the easier one to build i you are using farm labour and mixing your own concrete © The thickened section should extend at least 100 mm beyond the inner face of the wall ae TAS Figure 4: Thickened sit foundation Figure 2: Setting out @ Use lines and pegs to mark the outer dimensions of the building, as in Figure 5. s Check any right angles by forming a triangle Fi with sides in the proportion 3:4:5 (Figure 6) A . builders’ square can be used, but is less accurate + Figure & Trench i oo Trench fill foundation “ The concrete comes up almost to ground level : {Figure 3), Ths type is move suited to the use of a mechanical digger and ready-mixed concrete, and is probably cheaper than the traditional strip footing if an outside contractor does the work. Ithas these advantages: you will probably not have to dig the trench any wider than the minimum wiatn gWven in the t table: the width ofa stip footing is normally tracaarped” A determined by the necessity for a man to get inside the trench to build the wall, but this is not usually necessary with trench fit Figure 5: Seung ou a rectangular balding Aterthe ine the trench canbe fled with concrete as soon as arg ne ud he Buty hasbeen set ara anes 0 it has been dug, to avoid cave-ms and flooding; page B sn 6 can be heed by masouronent from wees pegs © time is saved on briok- or blocklaying since the rasan olf inal cone Bean he ound tn Sem ut ‘Gaveurale the mension AD should be equal fo wall no longer needs to be built up to ground level. dimension BC tne mag et ing‘BCA f a c t Ss A NEW GENERATION OF CONCRETE MIXES FOR THE FARM Table 1. Recommended concrete mixes” Application Designated | Standard or Concrete in or on non-aggressive soils Unreinforced foundations Gon 3" st4 Reinforced foundations RC30 sts Oversite concrete Gen 2 sT3 Blinding under slabs Gen1 st2 Mass concrete (non-structural) Gen 20 sts Column bases RC30 STS Foundations in sulfate-bearing soils!” Class 2 sulfate condition FND2 Class 3 sulfate condition FND3 Class 4 sulfate condition FND4 Floors and roads Livestock floors RC35 sT5 Stable floors RC4S MixB Crop store floors RC35 STs Floors (and walls) for silage RC45 Mix B ‘Sugar beet storage areas RC40® Mix A Workshop floors and floors subject to RC40 Mix A small-wheeled forklift trucks Brewers’ grains stores RC 45" MixB Mushroom sheds RC40 Mix A ‘Toppings for floors such as parlours and dairies RC 45” Mix B Floors (and walls) for manure and slurry stores RCso" Mix A External yards and roads (no de-icing salt) Gen 4 STS External yards and roads subject to even occasional de-icing salts PAV 1! Other applications Cavity infill in blockwork RC 40" Mixc” Reinforced concrete"™ Mild exposure RC30 Moderate exposure RC35 Severo exposure RC 40 Very severe exposure RC 45 Most severe exposure RC50 Century House, Telford Avenue Crowthome, Berks RGI 6YS Tel: (01344) 762676 Fax: (01344) 761214