Foundation load collection: calculation example

When it comes to building a new house, you should think about the quality and type of foundation. After all, it is he who is the main part and a reliable foundation. The foundation not only strengthens the house, but also supports its walls. When errors arise during the construction of this part of the building, one can not even hope for a long service. In just a few years of heavy load on the walls, you will be able to notice irreversible consequences and defects. The essence of the foundation is to minimize the impact of the building on the soil on which it is located. If you take the construction of the foundation lightly, the house will begin to warp and go into the ground.

That is why it is so important to carefully conduct all the calculations of collecting the load on the foundation before starting the construction of the house, examples of which are given below. All data should be double-checked several times, because the success of the result will depend on them.

What types of loads can affect the foundation

The collection of loads on the foundation (an example is given in the article) is affected by a variety of types of loads. They are both temporary and permanent. It all depends on what will be present in your home on an ongoing basis. One way or another, all this can be divided into four groups:

• The total mass of the elements of the house that bear the main load on the building.
• There are also so-called payloads. These are those objects that people are used to regularly changing to newer ones. You probably already guessed that such items are interior details. Also, the presence of a car in the house can be attributed to this point. If you are planning to build a garage, instead of one of the rooms, the weight and size of the car is quite important. In addition, all the tools and garden accessories that the garage will contain are taken into account.
• Direct loads on the foundation. That is the foundation of the house itself.
• Loads that are dynamic. These are natural phenomena: wind strength, the amount of rain and snowfall.

Counting Additional Factors

In order to accurately calculate the example of collecting the loads on the foundation under the column, you need to be sure even in the smallest details. Of course, this can be done only after drawing up a complete plan of the house, where all sizes and volumes will be taken into account. When you are just starting to design the entire building, you can roughly decide on the location and appearance of the foundation. And only after the completion of these actions, you can proceed to the collection of loads.

So what factors are really important:

• You need to roughly calculate the number of people who will live in your house.
• Know exactly the list and quantity of materials that will be used for the construction and decoration of the building.
• Of course, the size of the house itself is no less important.
• Counting equipment.
• Climatic conditions that are acceptable for your site.
• Well, the soil itself, on which the house will be built.

How best to calculate the estimated load

In order to find an example of collecting loads on the foundation of a multi-storey building that will impact, you need to make a lot of effort and knowledge. It is best to entrust this matter to specialists. If you decide to do this yourself, do not immediately create a panic and think that this is an unrealistic task. If you carefully look at and take into account all the nuances, it is unlikely to get ideal numbers, but the result with the smallest deviation is quite possible.

Thus, you can always leave much-needed money for something more significant. In order to get the most correct and accurate figure, you only need to estimate the approximate load collection and multiply everything by the approximation coefficient.

How to determine the quality of the soil

If you want to bring the calculations closer to perfection, you need to take into account such an important factor as the characteristics of the soil on which the building will be built. Otherwise, the collection of loads on the pile foundation (an example for the calculation begins with the calculation of the walls) will not be reliable. In order to consider all the details, you need to recall the four characteristics of the land:

• can he sustain the house;
• shrinkage levels;
• how deep it freezes in the cold seasons;
• how deep is the groundwater?

Soil bearing capacity

The very first point is an indicator of how much the earth can withstand the load that the future building will create. If the soil is ready for resistance and has a fairly dense foundation, it is possible not to stretch the foundation on the surface of the site. Everything directly depends on the bearing capacity of the earth.

The value that you get should be equated to an average of 3 kg. Thanks to this data, you will receive data on the bearing capacity of the earth and the collection of loads on the foundation. An example of calculations will be presented below.

Shrinkage levels

What are shrinkage levels? This is its density and ability to compact. This level determines how earth is resistant to stress and deformation of the upper layer. If the soil is quite strong, you can be sure that over time it does not begin to fall through and warp the walls of the building. The lower the shrinkage value, the more reliable the soil.

Freezing level

How deep the ground can freeze is also very important. After all, when the temperature drops, the soil balls begin to expand, lifting up individual parts of the foundation. It is this that leads to the reverse effect during its destruction. That is, in the case of the level of shrinkage, the foundation falls through, destroying the walls, and here it rises, also causing damage to the house.

Ground water level

An indicator of how deep the groundwater passes directly affects the three previous factors. If the water is too close, it destroys all the ability of the soil to tamp and carry loads. The first thing that happens is a decrease in bearing capacity. All globes are constantly exposed to the environment and cannot hold structures that are too heavy. They crumble the foundation. But due to the fact that water becomes the cause of softening and suppleness of the soil, the soil begins to expand. You are already familiar with the consequences of this reaction.

How, by example, to calculate the pressure exerted on the foundation

In order to make it more understandable for you to use all the points, we will try to clearly show all the subtleties and nuances in the calculation. The most popular and simplest is a one-story house with an attic. The collection of loads on the foundation (an example in the Excel table can be calculated independently) depends on the area of ​​the structure and is different for each layout.

We took all the information from a detailed plan of residential buildings, in which dimensions and used building materials were indicated:

• the house consists of one floor and an attic;
• the approximate size of the house is 16 x 16 meters;
• the distance between the overlap is 2 meters;
• the thickness of the walls that were made of logs is about 50 centimeters;
• Also, the walls have a facing coating of hollow bricks, the thickness of which is equal to 15 centimeters;
• the floor for the attic was made of the same materials that were used for the basement;
• the base of the roof was trimmed with slate.

How to get the results

The first thing to do is to calculate the collection of foundation loads (calculation example below) used to build a house. This gives us the following results:

• The area calculated for the ceiling is about 15 x 15 meters, which ultimately equals 225 m ² .
• The area calculated under the bearing walls is 180 square meters. In this result, both doors and windows were taken into account.
• The attic has an area of ​​70 square meters.
• If you calculate the sum of the area of ​​the walls, then it will be 295 square meters.
• But the roof area is 225 square meters.

Equating the result

So, we made calculations of all the areas and materials that will be used in the construction of the house, that is, we collected the loads on the foundation (an example of the table is presented below).

To get the final result, do the following:

• We find the approximate weight of the walls assembled from logs. It is necessary to reproduce the bearing walls, thickness and average weight per cubic meter: 180 x 0.5 x 600 = 54 tons.
• Next, we get the mass of bricks used for wall cladding. It is necessary to express the entire area of ​​the walls, which is further multiplied by the width of the masonry and the tabular density of the selected brick: 295 x 0.15 x 1400 = 62 tons.
• To find the mass of floors of both the basement and the attic, you need to multiply their total area by the tabular density of the selected slab: 225 x 500 = 113 tons.
• To find out the weight of the roof, you need to multiply its area by the average weight of the selected coating: 225 x 50 = 12 tons.

Now it remains only to put everything together. As a result, 240 tons will load the erected foundation.

Foundation Features

There remains one important factor in the calculations - the type of foundation. It is usually divided into five main types:

• Strip foundations. When you calculate the collection of loads on a strip foundation (an example of calculations was given above), then the result should be divided by the length of the selected tape. This is one of the easiest calculation options.
• Slab foundations. But with this option you have to tinker. You need to find the mass of the load that will affect every square meter of tile. And then it is then divided by the size of the entire foundation.
• Columnar and pile foundations. The first thing, as with the tape base, is the collection of loads on the column foundation (we will not consider the example, since it is identical). The result should be divided by the total length of all the bearing walls where the piles will be installed. If the distance between the parts of the foundation is too short or too long, you should change the cross section of the supports and count all the data again. As we can see, this is the most complex and time-consuming process.

In order to successfully build a house, you need to have a lot of patience and perseverance. This is so much work, but what a pleasant surprise awaits you at the end of the journey! You simply must understand that collecting the load on the foundation, an example of which is presented above, is the beginning, this is the most important component of your future cozy home. It can only mean that this part requires the most attention. To cope with this task, you do not need to have a huge amount of money to call specialists. Do not give up and believe in luck, and you will be able to calculate everything yourself. If you are not a great mathematician, do not forget that in every house you can always find a calculator or a device that performs its functions.