Our buildings are getting more and more amazing by the decade. Just take a look at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper, located in United Arab Emirates. That was built in 2010. Now, take a look at Saudi Arabia’s plan for ‘The Line’: an entire city in a building that will stretch continuously over 170km long. Crazy idea ? Visionary ? call it what you will, nonetheless and engineering marvel.
So, to build such wildly large and complex buildings, you need to start with solid foundations. But how can solid foundations be laid if you’re working on soft ground?
In this post, the foundation experts from Techniblock address how tall building foundations are built on even the softest of ground.
The softer the ground, the deeper the foundation
The general rule for building tall structures on soft ground is that the foundation must be laid deeper than usual. This decision is made by a Structural Engineer based on the soil conditions and a report by a qualified Geotechnical engineer.
Are Extra screw piles the answer?
Not necessarily ! depending on the design, you can have many lighter gauge, shallower screw piles or you can have less piles but of a much more substantial size. The larger the capacity, the deeper the pile will be required to secure the foundation.
Consequences of getting it wrong
Don’t take chances on building any building on soft ground. The consequences of shallow piles on soft ground are:
- Weak foundation
- Serious structural problems with the building in the future
- Cracks in walls and brickwork needing costly repairs
Constructing tall buildings on soft ground is perfectly possible, and we’re not here to scare you off doing so.
The first port of call is to consult a structural Engineer and an geotechnical engineer to determine what’s required.