What is a Mat Foundation
When the ground is rather soft, or the soil has tendency of settling, the area of the footing needs to be increased so as to distribute the load evenly on a larger portion of the ground. Or, there may be an abnormal amount of heavy axial loads in the structure. While we can enlarge the area per-footing, it isn’t safe – one of the footing may settle causing strain in the whole structure. Also, at one point they will start to overlap.
In these types of cases, a mat foundation or a raft foundation is used. A mat foundation is a wide, large slab placed underneath all the columns of the building, effectively taking all the load of the building, and is at lease as large as the building’s full footprint.
The mat foundation is not always just a large flat slab – there are variations in the design.
Published By
Arka Roy
www.constructioncost.co
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