The concrete slab foundation and its work are very important for making buildings. It can be done in many processes. First of all, the foundation of a building is part of walls, piers, and columns in direct contact with the ground and transmitting loads to the ground. Because of the variety of soil, rock land- size, and water condition concrete slab foundation can be made. Among different types of foundations, it is the easiest and cheapest building construction material in construction work.
Without further ado let’s dig into the detail of the concrete slab foundation through the definition of concrete slab foundation, its types of it along with its pros and cons.
What is Concrete Slab Foundation?
A concrete slab foundation is a large, heavy lair, or slab of concrete that is ordinarily 4-6 inches wide in the innermost and cascaded directly on the ground all at one time. However, the concrete slab is commonly located on a slab of sand to develop drainage quality and act as a buffer. A concrete slab does not have a channel beneath a building. This type of foundation differs from house foundations, quality of land condition, and basement requirements. The concrete slab foundation is usually forged on the property that has been classified, as it should be. The soil must be qualified because if it’s not, the foundation could sink or settle due to poor soil compilation.
Types of Concrete Slab Foundation
The concrete slab foundation is a crucial structural element and is used to provide flat surfaces like floors and ceilings in buildings. However, there are different concrete slab foundation types which are depending on the span, length, and strength of a building.
There are mainly 3 types of Concrete Slab foundations in building construction work. Such as:
- T-Shaped
- Slab on grade foundation
- Frost Protected
A brief description of these types is provided below.
T-Shaped Concrete Slab Foundation
This kind of concrete foundation is the traditional and most common type of foundation used in building construction and architectural work. It can help to support big and higher buildings, especially in areas where the ground is obnoxious to frigid. When the ground is frozen, a greater amount of load is utilized on the commercial building foundation. However, a T-shaped concrete foundation can prevent damage from frozen grounds.
This foundation gets its name from the shape of the footing, which looks like an upside-down "T". The footing is placed below the frost line and the walls are designed and cascaded on top. Then the slab is poured between the walls. This concrete foundation is constructive because it gives the structure a more secure footing due to its width. It is also one of the most expensive kinds of foundations since it requires three individual pours to finish the job. To some extent, this is protected against UV rays reduces energy costs, provides a level of fire resistance, and prevents the growth of mold.
Slab on Grade Foundation
On contrary of the T-Shaped slab foundation, a slab-on-grade foundation is typically used in areas where the ground does not freeze. The slab-on-grade foundation consists of a single layer of concrete that is several inches thick and is cascaded all at one time. It is a less pricey foundation to pour than the T-foundation mentioned above since there is only one concrete pour needed. It is made at the edges of the base to create an integral footing, and reinforcing rods are placed at each thickened edge to add more strength. This type of foundation ordinarily rests on a bed of crushed gravel, which develops the overall drainage of the foundation. Albeit, slab-on-grade foundations are most typically used in areas where the ground does not freeze, it can also be used in combo with covering to protect against negative effects from ground freezing.
Frost Protected
This kind of foundation is almost similar to a slab-on-grade foundation in that a layer of gravel is first laid down. The dominant variation comes from the sheets of rigid, polystyrene covering laid on top of the gravel and along the outside of the foundation wall before cascading the slab. This is a worthwhile foundation, since, like the slab-on-grade type, it only recommends a single pour. This foundation is only used for heated design. This helps to protect and prevent heat from avoiding from around the edges of the slab and mostly keeps the ground around the footings from freezing. However, a Frost-protected concrete foundation is preferable to a T-shaped foundation. While three separate pours are required for T-shaped foundations, frost-protected foundations only require one concrete pouring. Buildings are colossal pieces of construction, strong and durable concrete is required to create a strong, durable foundation. Builders must consider the expense and endurance of materials before beginning a construction project.
Concrete Slab Foundation’s Pros & Cons
Just like other building foundation work, the Concrete slab foundation has also some pros and cons.
Advantages of Concrete Slab Foundation
The followings are the concrete slab foundation advantages.
- There are many pros to making concrete slab foundations for buildings. But among them, a great benefit of the concrete slab foundation is that it dries instantly. And it can be poured in a single day. It is durable and strong for building strength and is long-lasting.
- The concrete slab foundation diminishes the probability of slump because of water erosion and gas leakage.
- Making this type of foundation is cost-benefit other than building construction work.
Disadvantages of Concrete Slab Foundation
Contrary to the pros, it has some cons. The followings are the concrete slab foundation disadvantages.
- A concrete slab can be cracked, when they are resolved to the frigid temperature. Though concrete is strong, a tiny crack destroys the entire slab foundation, and at the same time repairing the crack wall is even more costly than before.
- Inappropriately made concrete slab foundations can be harder to access, quickly cracked, and difficult to maintain.
Indeed, concrete slab foundations are the most important constructional work. And for that, it should be made carefully according to the utmost requirements with expert knowledge.