Sloped Footings
Sloped Footings
(OP)
I am in the process of designing a foundation for a carwash with strip footing for a client. The carwash pit is approximately 3.0m deep and the footing is 1.6 to be below frost. They have a standard detail that shows a sloped footing going from 1.6 m down to the footing of the pit. This is load bearing wall. Given the footing is on slope, how does the load get transferred to the soil since it is at an angle? Am I missing something?? It is late Friday afternoon and the clients standard says it works, but my logic says no. Thanks in advance for your support.





RE: Sloped Footings
It is difficult to be sure I have understood the problem without a drawing, and difficult to explain my concerns without another drawing.
Is it possible that ALL of the load is transferred to the pit structure itself? In that case, design your sloping "footing" as a structural member, as though there is no support from the soil underneath that footing.
RE: Sloped Footings
Regarding the sloped footing, yes it has a horizontal component, but it is the vertical component I would worry about. Wouldn't the verical load accumulate "downhill" and possibley over load the soil at the bottom??