Ballarat Foundation Contractor

You need a foundation contractor in Ballarat for any kind of building project. The foundation is the most important part of the building. It supports the whole structure and distributes the load of the weight to the soil.

In one of our articles, we discussed the different types of shallow foundations. Now, we will share with you several types of deep foundations. This information should help you understand how an engineer decides what kind of foundation to use.  

Pile Foundation

This is a type of foundation where a foundation contractor in Ballarat drives spikes or a cylinder under the ground. It has to be deep, and that material has to be strong. Most of the time, we use concrete for this. Also, we need several piles from where the slab or floor will sit.

Here are the situations where we use pile foundations:

• The soil is weak at the surface, and it cannot support the building
• The building is really heavy with concentrated loads; this is typically a high-rise building

In a pile foundation, we are bypassing the weak soil at the top. As such, we are transferring the load to the deeper part of the soil. Another benefit of a pile foundation is that it can bean more weight than the typical spread footing.

One type of pile foundation is the end-bearing pile. Here, the bottom of the cylinder rests on strong soil or bedrock. In this type, it is the bottom of the pile that bears the load, and it pretty much acts as a post.

Another type that you may see is the friction pile. Here, the pile transfers the load of the building to the piles themselves. In such a case, it is the pile that first takes the load before moving that load to the soil. Longer piles can support more load.  

Drilled Shafts or Caisson Foundation

This is a type of foundation that has the same principle as the pile one. It can resist heavy loads because of the shafts.

In this approach, we drill a shaft and then put a prefabricated hollow box or cylinder. We typically use this if the hard soil is located within 10 meters to 100 meters below the ground. As you can see, we only use this if the soil is really soft.

Usually, you will see this kind of foundation in piers and bridges. This is why we also refer to this as pier foundation. It is not an ideal type of foundation in areas with soft clay, or soil that is loose.

One great thing about this type of foundation is that it has the capacity to bear huge loads. It is applicable in many conditions, and it is also cheaper. However, this is much more complicated, and only experts like us can pull this through.

Lastly, you cannot use this kind of foundation in contaminated soil. It is also difficult to maintain this kind of foundation.

Summary: Foundation Contractor in Ballarat

There are many factors that an engineer has to consider as far as foundations are concerned. Once the engineer completes the calculation, it now translates to project execution and cost. If you have a question, do not hesitate to contact us and we will help you out.

For project prices, you have the option to use our contact form. Give us the details for your project, and will assess it then provide you with a price range.

The best thing that we should do is to schedule a meeting and then see the project site. it would help if you could also share the blueprint. This way, we can better understand what we need to do and give you a better quote.