When it comes to commercial concrete, foundation is a huge building block. In the world of concrete, Foundations are one of the most important parts, especially when it comes to commercial concrete. Foundations of commercial buildings have to be perfect other wise you get balancing issues, cracking, and no building. Every project is different, every location is different, soil is different, equipment is different. Because every project is different you cant expect to come up with a flat price for every project.
In this article we would like to highlight the four primary factors that affect commercial concrete foundations which anyone involved in construction should be familiar with.
Capacity: Not only are commercial structures usually much bigger than residential ones, they also, usually, have a much heavier and demanding load being placed on their foundations. Think of how many people are in a commercial building at any given moment, not to mention any machinery or heavy-duty equipment that might be on location. The engineer must calculate the capacity required for your building and then make sure it is literally built on ”capacity”.
Soil Testing and Analysis: Prior to designing the foundation, a series of soil tests are conducted on site to determine the nature of the soil, its ‘bearing capacity’ and its response to the load imposed by the building. Different types of soil have different load bearing capacities and therefore affect the type of foundation design. In addition, soil pressures caused by the soils reaction to the season of the year must also be taken into account when designing. Finally, the proposed size of the foundation must be considered. A foundation must be sized so that it features a load capacity that exceeds the total applied load that will be exerted by the columns, walls and the applicable weight of the concrete foundation.
Another significant factor you must consider when selecting a piece of property is the local building codes and regulations. Every single locality has its own building codes and regulations and you must follow them when building or developing real estate. In most cases, some sort of building permit is required to begin constructing your home as well. You must build your new home according to all the local building codes or you will not be able to get a building permit or if you have finished your home and you do not follow all the building regulations then you will have to tear your home down and build your new home according to all the local building codes or you have to make your new home go up to the building regulations requiring whatever you need to do to bring your home up to the building requirements.
Proper Drainage: The most important thing you can do to keep water away from under your pier and beam foundation is to keep everything as dry as possible. This includes not only the soil, but also the crawl space areas and the perimeter grade beams and foundation beams. Well-designed drainage and moisture control will usually prevent related foundation problems.
Concrete mix and reinforcement: The actual concrete mix used for the foundation is critical. Many contractors use a mix of Portland cement, sand, and water that is a good mix. When others just use a mud like substance. This must be in the right cement and water mixture. The concrete must meet the strength and durability requirements according to the specific requirements. This is important since the mix of concrete without any reinforcements isn’t as strong. Many people use steel rebar as a reinforcement for their concrete. Almost all of the large structure like bridges have a concrete with reinforcements. The reinforcements help with cracking. If there is not any reinforcements in the concrete it was more likely to crack. If the steel rebar gets corroded it reduces the durability of the concrete.
In building construction, site conditions such as accessibility and space constraints also affect the construction process. It is found that issues like this will also make an impact in building construction. Example of problem is how the lorry can go into the construction site and also for the other machineries
Schedule: Timely completion of foundation is crucial to project in schedule. Any delay in foundation can cause delays throughout the schedule and cause costly setbacks.
To conclude, commercial concrete foundations are super crucial during your construction building. If your foundation is not built very well then the building will become unstable and even if some kind of natural disaster were to occur it would just collapse probably immediately. So that just goes to show how important commercial you concrete foundations are important to your project. You have a lot of key points to keep into mind as you complete your foundation.