Foundations and ground conditions - Buildings and Superstructures in Aquaculture Engineering

Foundations and ground conditions

When starting to build, proper foundations are very important to prevent part of the construction moving after the building is finished. Important components may break if the foundations move under the load from the building.

The ground conditions must be suitable for erecting a building. Rock, stone and sand/gravel form good building ground, while clay and silt are not as suitable because they are less stable. In colder regions, where the ground freezes in the winter season, clay and silt are not recommended for building ground, because the frozen ground will create movement in the building during freezing and thawing. The ground must carry the weight of the building, which makes marshy areas unfit for normal building constructions unless special pre-cautions are taken, such as having raft construction as the foundation for the building.

Foundations are normally laid as concrete slabs. In areas with frozen ground, insulation under the slabs is necessary to avoid problems with heave. Alternatively, a ring foundation wall that goes down to frost-free ground must be used to ensure that the frozen ground not does affect the building.

Normally this is recommended to go below 1.5 m depth, but this varies with the depth of the frozen ground. It is important to use drainage pipes to ensure that water is removed from the proximity of the walls to avoid possible movement.