Strength Starts Below Ground

Footings are the most critical element of any structure.

Footings if done right, Never Fail!

Why our footings are best

1. Reinforced Cages and Adequate Footing Size. Proper Cage Reinforcement is critical, concrete is inherently weak without adequate steel reinforcement. Footings Must also be of an adequate size to counter forces applied into them.
   1. Ensure the correct amount of steel is within the concrete footing. Check with the engineer.
   2. Maintain adequate concrete cover to the steel reinforcement. This protects the steel from corrosion. Concrete Cancer.
   3. Ensure the footings are founded into natural soil, we recommend a soil test be carried out and ensure any fill layers are accounted for.
   4. Identify the actual size of the footings required to counter the forces exerted by the structure, Uplift, Moment, soil conditions etc must all be taken into consideration.
2. Strength of Concrete. Ensuring adequacy of concrete strength specified for the footing is crucial.
   1. Concrete Strengths vary and should be considered when designing a footing.
   2. Strengths can vary from 15 mpa -50+mpa for standard structures alone.
   3. Other external factors should be considered, soil conditions, time until installation or loading the footing etc.
3.  Countering difficult soil conditions. Fortunately for our customers we have dealt with some tricky soil conditions over the years, this includes, Brissy Tuff Rock, equivalent to Granite, to water tables only 800mm below surface level.
   1. Our experience here ensures you have accurate information and solutions at the time they are needed.
   2. Dealing with these scenarios can blow the budget massively if there isn’t a calculated back up plan ready to implement.
   3. Smart design prior to unearthing the issues is ideal, but if encountered throughout the project, we ensure you that we are able to handle the situation, promptly, efficiently and most importantly cost effectively.

In Summary, Being cheap on footings can really hurt you in the long run. If a footing needs to be replaced, often the structure and the shade needs to be replaced with it.

Stay Versatile!

Jamie Howard